Here We Go Again: Another Montcalm Musketeer Story - Continued
by Ms. Comfrey
Summary: SEQUEL Two years have passed since the trip back in time to France and life has moved on. But sometimes, the most unexpected things happen and life gets a whole lot more complicated when musketeers visit the present day of October 2009. '98 Man in the Iron Mask based. A/N: Continued WITH consent of MlledeLaRoseBlanche who reads and approves everything beforehand.
1. Here We Go Again

**A/N: The plot belongs to MlledeLaRoseBlanche as do the OCs. Everything else belongs to Alexander Dumas and the producers of the 1998 version of Man in the Iron Mask. The first nine chapters were written by her, the rest are read and approved by her.**

Chapter 1: Here We Go Again

And we're back! Never expected us to do a second story did you?

Enjoy the beginning of our second misadventure! Oh… almost forgot something really important…

DISCLAIMER: WE DO NOT OWN THE MUSKETEERS OR ANY CHARACTERS ASSOCIATED WITH THEM (NADA, ZIP, ZILCH, ZERO!) THEY ARE PROPERTY OF ALEXANDRE DUMAS. NOR DO WE OWN THE SCHOOL WHERE ALL OF OUR MISADVENTURES TAKE PLACE! WE ALSO DO NOT OWN THE VERSIONS OF THE MUSKETEERS USED (WHICH IS FROM THE MOVIE "THE MAN IN THE IRON MASK").

What that said and done, now let's get to the story

October 28, 1665

It was another simple autumn day in the city of Paris. There was a slight bite to the air that day but nothing out of the ordinary. A gray stallion trotted through the streets, its rider dressed in the uniform of the guards of the King; that of the musketeers. The rider reigned in his horse to stop outside of one of the many similar looking homes and dismounted, tying his horse to the window shutter before he entered the building and climbed the stairs to the second apartment. Voices flitted out from under the door and they quickly silenced when the rider knocked upon the thick wood. The door was opened to reveal a modest apartment and three people within, all older men. The man who had opened the door gave the new arrival a warm smile and ushered him in.

"Welcome D'Artagnan." Athos said warmly, embracing the musketeer heartily. D'Artagnan responded just as warmly and gave nods of greeting to Porthos and Aramis who were the other two guests that were there. They had gathered there for a weekly meeting they had fallen into the habit of doing over the past two years.

Athos poured them all some wine and they simply sat and talked about what had happened from day to day since the week they had last met up. Although the conversation was very animated, all of them in their turn kept sneaking what they thought to be a sly glance at the sword upon the mantle. It had been returned to its position there after the teens from the future had used it to return to their home two years prior. However, the conversation soon died as their attention became focused on the blade.

"I wonder how those children are doing…" D'Artagnan muttered in thought. Athos gave him a sharp look.

"Wherever they are, I am sure that they are well. There is no need to think about them as much as we do." Although this may seem a callous thing to say, it has been said many times over. It was simply a way to get the subject changed and to get conversation flowing again. However, there were still some sneaky glances to the blade throughout.

When it began to grow dark outside the window, Athos' guests stood to leave. He talked with them still in the doorway when D'Artagnan realized his had left his gloves on the table within the apartment and squeezed past Athos to retrieve them. The three remaining friends waited for a minute or two before becoming slightly suspicious and returning to the room they had just left. D'Artagnan had certainly retrieved his gloves and was putting one of them to good use in removing the sword from its settled spot on the mantle. Athos took a couple steps (for that was how close he was to him) and gripped his shoulder warningly. The musketeer captain froze; a slight expression of embarrassment upon his face.

"What are you doing?" D'Artagnan looked at Athos with a blank look, not having an answer to his question.

"I think it's time for all of you to return home." He turned him towards the door but D'Artagnan tripped over Athos' feet and he began to fall forward, throwing out his ungloved hand to catch his fall but instead of grabbing upon the mantle, his bare hand clasped the sword. The other three men rushed forward to help steady him and as they grabbed a hold of his coat, a light blinded them and they felt their feet leave the ground.

The air rushed by them at a howl, colours blended together to create a whirlwind mess around them until the four of them found themselves slammed into the ground, knocking the wind out of them. Except for Porthos who had had an unfortunate landing in a nearby tree and was now full out cursing in the loudest voice possible as every branch he was dropped on broke underneath him and deposited him on the one below until he reached the bottom where the other three lay trying to regain their breath.

"Where in God's name… are we?" Aramis panted as he sat up slowly so as to make sure that no important bones had been damaged. Their landing had placed them on the front lawns of a large building made of brown coloured stone with double set of rows of windows along the facet of the building. Three of them slowly stood to their feet, still a little disoriented from the rough landing while Porthos remained crouched on the ground a bit longer as he was still in a fair degree of pain.

"You simply had to touch the sword!" Athos said, slapping D'Artagnan upside the head which resulted in a dirty look from him.

When Porthos had recovered enough of his senses to be able to get to his feet, the four of them headed for the set of four doors nearby, all made of grayish-yellow metal and they all had glass windows, and they entered through to doors to come upon a large, chilly stairway. They continued on through another quartet of doors (these ones royal blue with a long thin rectangle of glass going down the door) after taking a quick glance at the mural painted on the wall to the left of the doors. There was no one in the area they entered which was a large open area with three different directions they could take.

"Which way?" Porthos asked, his voice's pitch still a little high. The four of them stood there staring around, trying to decide which way to go when a loud clanging screech rang throughout the building and swarms of kids began pouring out through the three paths, chattering and oblivious to the four strangers standing in their midst.

October 28, 2009

The shrieking ring of a bell sounded through the building and crowds of children poured out of rooms with blue doors, packing the hallways like sardines in a can, all in a hurry to reach their lockers and head off to either buy their lunch from the cafeteria or to eat a home brought lunch.

The good thing about a high school is when it has a second floor. Hardly any students stay up there unless that is where all their friends and their own locker are. And this makes it the perfect meeting place for those that are considered among the high school society to be a little odd or imaginative or simply plain crazy. The room that was chosen for such a meeting place was one of the two French rooms.

"Please tell me you're kidding!" A voice rang out from within the room.

"No I'm not." Another voice replied sounding rather dejected and annoyed. There was a blast of laughter that lasted for several minutes.

"Chris, how can you mess up something so easy? I'm sure your sister showed you how to feed your niece without making such a mess!" Chris pouted as Shawnee continued to laugh at him from her perch onto top of a desk. Brenna sat in the chair beside her, trying hard not to laugh and choke on her lunch and Jordan walked the length of the room working his way through his sandwich and ignoring the rest of the group.

"It's not that easy to feed an 8 month old baby! I'd like to see you try it!" Chris protested.

"I have, remember? My family was a foster family for nine years and we had almost nothing but small children. It is not that difficult to feed a baby." Shawnee countered with a smirk. Chris huffed and folded his arms. He opened his mouth to protest when the PA system gave a loud BEEP noise. All four of them frowned and stared at the metal speaker mounted on the wall with great annoyance.

"Would a group of students with the names Shawnee, Brenna, Chris, and Jordan please report to the main office? I repeat, Shawnee, Brenna, Chris, and Jordan: report to the main office." The four of them looked at each other with confused expressions.

"Did they just call us down to the office?" Jordan asked, taking another glance at the speaker.

"Yeah I think they did." Shawnee said, her eyes narrowed suspiciously at the speaker as well. Chris shrugged and headed for the door.

"Might as well go see what they want right?" Brenna nodded and stood to follow him. Jordan trailed out after them and Shawnee followed last, still giving the speaker a suspicious glance as if it would hop off the wall, hunt them down and eat them. The four of them chatted about anything that came to mind as they walked to the office. When they reached the glass door to the main office, Brenna gave Shawnee a small push in the back.

"What was that for?!" She demanded.

"You're the one going first." Brenna answered with a smile. Shawnee growled at her then shoved open the door, entering the office, with the other three close behind.

"Hi." She chirped to the secretary.

"You called us down a few moments ago?" The secretary nodded and smiled.

"Yes. Do you know these men? They say that they know you." All four of them looked to their left in one movement and no one spoke for a few minutes as they examined each other.

"Oh great…" Shawnee said with a sarcastic smile.

"Look who it is. Some of France's greatest." This comment earned her a slap upside the head from Brenna.

"Do you ever think before letting words out of your mouth?"

"I'm supposed to?"

"Oh shut up."

"But where's the fun in that?"

"Shawnee…"

"Yes Brenna?"

"Whenever you're finished…" Shawnee shrugged and didn't say another word about the topic but turned to the secretary.

"Yes we do know them. Very well actually." The secretary nodded and returned her attention to her work. Shawnee turned to the four men in question to see them looking each one of them up and down to see how they've changed.

"My… How you four have changed!" Aramis said with slight shock. He had every reason to be shocked. Two years can change a lot about people. Brenna, Chris, and Jordan had grown a bit taller (Chris and Jordan having recently gone through a growth spurt) and had become more defined in shape.

Brenna now sported a pair of glasses that was three quarters covered with black frame and then the bottom of the lenses had no frame and Shawnee had traded in her old wire frames for a pair of thicker, square, brown ones. Her hair was also no longer in its once longer, messier style but came up to a little below her shoulders and she now had a vague hourglass shape to her frame. But she was the only one whose height had not changed or had not changed a lot, making her the shortest person there. Brenna smiled.

"Well you couldn't have expected us to look the exact same forever!"

"Now who's being the smart ass?" Shawnee muttered. Brenna stuck her tongue out at her childishly to which Shawnee simply swiped two fingers against her temple in a salute.

"Excuse me…" Shawnee turned to see the secretary watching them curiously.

"I am wondering if could tell what these men are doing here. Are they related to you?" All eight of them froze, looking at each other in shock. Shawnee frowned for a second, bowing her head in thought then swinging it back up with a bright smile.

"Actually yes. They're our uncles… from France who are here to… study Canada's education system!" The musketeers stared at her in utter shock at the blatant lie. The other three also gave her looks of great disbelief before forcing it down and faking smiles so as to agree with her statement. The secretary raised an eyebrow but said nothing more. Instead she stood and walked over to the principal's office and came back out followed by Mrs. Mills.

"These children say that these gentlemen are here from France to study the educational system here." Mrs. Mills gave them a confused look.

"I knew nothing about this."

"It was all very sudden Madame." Athos consoled.

"We simply chose which school we would be visiting this morning upon arrival." She nodded and borrowed some paper from the secretary to quickly scribble a few notes which she then handed to the four teens.

"These are passes out of your classes for the rest of the afternoon so you may show our guests around the school. Give these to the attendance office." Shawnee nodded and led the crowd out of the office and into the hall just as the bell gave its screeching ring once more to signal that class was soon to start. They waited against a wall as crowds of kids pushed pass them to get to hallways and classes for the afternoon. When everyone was gone and the area was silent, Brenna smacked Shawnee upside the head once more.

"What the hell kind of excuse was that? 'They're our uncles here to study the education system.' That was pathetic!"

"I couldn't think of anything else to say! It just came to me!" The two girls glared at each other until D'Artagnan gave a slight cough to catch their attention. They chuckled, embarrassed for a moment, before regaining their composure.

"What are we supposed to do now?" Jordan asked, sounding slightly annoyed.

"Well why not show us around this place?" Porthos said, gesturing grandly to the hallways leading off of the foyer they stood in. They went through a set of royal blue double doors and walked down a hallway until they came to a smaller open space with a long wooden cabinet along the wall across from them.

"Milady!" A voice cried out as they moved through the open space and into another hall. At this, Shawnee froze and pressed her hand against her face with a groan. The musketeers whipped around so fast, it was a wonder they didn't give themselves whiplash.

Behind them was a short girl with brown hair pulled back in a ponytail, wearing jeans, a patterned t-shirt, and blue fingerless gloves. She had a bright happy smile on her face and Shawnee turned around and walked up to her with a halfhearted glare on her face.

"Planchet, I've told you once, I've told you a thousand times. You do NOT call me that name. Ever." Brenna coughed and pointed at D'Artagnan whose face was a picture of shock.

"Allow me to introduce Alexiss, our group's version of Planchet. Alexiss, meet the musketeers." Shawnee said, waving to them with a sigh of boredom. Alexiss' jaw dropped.

"NO WAY!" She squealed, clapping her hands.

"This is so awesome!"

"Keep it down Alexiss! We don't want everyone to know who they are. The story we have is that they're our uncles from France here to study the Canadian education systems. Now, can you stick to that story?" Alexiss nodded, still smiling brightly.

"Good. Now shouldn't you be in class?"

"I was just going to the washroom. See you later!" She waved as she walked away. Shawnee sighed and returned to her place at the front of the group.

"Where are you leading us?" Aramis asked. Chris shrugged.

"Who knows? There's no where to go in this school. Shouldn't we just go home?"

"Hmm…. Maybe we should take these four to Masonville mall. They… need some clothes if they're going to blend in." Shawnee muttered.

"What about band practice?" Brenna asked worriedly. "We can't miss that."

"Nerd." Chris fake coughed, rolling his eyes afterwards.

"We'll just tell her that we can't make it for practice today because of our visiting uncles. I'm sure she won't mind." Shawnee said with a shrug.

"Shawnee! We can't do that!" Brenna exclaimed. Shawnee winced and gave a defeated sigh.

"Very well… We'll go to band practice. So this means that you two Chris and Jordan have to stick together after school. You can come with us to practice or go to the library or something until we're done." Chris scrunched up his face in distaste.

"Pass. How about we take these two…" He gestured to Aramis and Porthos. "Up to that thrift store down the street and look around there while you guys go be band geeks."

"That just may work. But they are not allowed to touch ANYTHING understand? We don't need them causing trouble."

"Do we not get a say in this?!" Aramis asked, not enjoying these plans being made involving them but not getting consulted on it at all. Shawnee just looked at him blankly.

"No. Welcome to the 21st century boys. You go by our rules now."

Wow… That was a long beginning chapter. Not too exciting of a start for the story but hey, we can't give you excitement all at once can we?

Hope you enjoy our second misadventure and we'll see you all in chapter 2!


	2. Shards of Trouble

Chapter 2: Shards of Trouble

Welcome to Chapter 2 everyone! I'm glad you liked the first chapter. And I am SO sorry about it being two – three weeks wait for this chapter . I really need to learn to kick myself into gear…

Also, warning: Some minor swearing may occur. Turn back now if this offends you in any way.

Let's continue shall we?

October 28, 2009

The bell gave a screechy ring and students happily squished themselves into the halls once more as they headed for lockers. School had finally ended for the day. Shawnee gave a somewhat annoyed sigh and followed Brenna and Athos solemnly as her friend led the way to the school's auditorium, which was where band practice was held every Monday and Wednesday.

The room they entered was large and your voice echoed when you spoke. It had wood walls and metal seats with cushions of the actual seats in rising rows until it reached doors that lead out on to the second floor of the school. The room was also somewhat chilly. Brenna and Shawnee led the two musketeers over to the front most rows and pushed them into seats.

"Sit." Brenna ordered.

"And stay!" Shawnee finished, smirking. They then headed towards a set of stairs along a wall leading up to a second floor door.

"Where are you going?" Athos called. The girls turned to look back.

"Going to get our instruments. We need them to play music after all!" Shawnee called back before they bounded up the stairs and out a blue door at the top, blocking it with a broken music stand that was left up there for such a purpose. The two men shuffled awkwardly in their seats, sitting in utter silence except for the sound of their breathing.

There was a slight sound of murmuring then a bunch of younger children filed in, chattering and laughing and joking and poking fun at their friends. The atmosphere was relaxed and social. But one after another, the new arrivals headed for the same stairs the girls has taken and the men turned to see the pair of them climbing back down the steps carrying black cases, both a different size, and a black folder.

"What do you think they are doing?" D'Artagnan whispered.

"I am not sure." Athos whispered back.

Shawnee flopped the case down hard on a set of risers and popped it open as Brenna began to work on piecing together her flute. Shawnee pulled out piece after black piece of her instrument until she finally had it together and all pieces aligned properly. It held a vague resemblance to a musket if the length was halved. More of the students returned from the upper level and the large room became filled with the sounds of chatter and the clang and crash of instrument cases being put on the ground and personal items being dropped. The conductor came down last just as everyone was finishing with their set up, got everyone's attention and started with her announcements.

"Alright everyone. There are new pieces up here at the front so make sure you have those. And our first fundraiser is coming up…" She continued for a few minutes before raising her arms as a cue to start.

"Ok. Whole notes up the scale!" She said loudly. "One, two, three, four…" The band was led through a few quick warm routines of going up and down a concert B-flat scale before moving on to actually practicing the music. The two men sat back, listening to the music in silence in slight awe, being that it was much different from what they were used to hearing in their own time.

The practice only lasted an hour and once that was through, the instruments were packed up, belongings were picked up, and all the students trekked up the stairs to put everything away and head for home. Brenna waved to Athos and D'Artagnan for them to follow and the two men waited outside the music room on the second floor for the girls to come out.  
"How do you think Chris and Jordan are doing with finding clothes for those guys?" Shawnee asked.

"I don't know… Hopefully they aren't causing trouble!" Brenna said, laughing.

While band was happening…

The thrift store Talize was oddly busy that day although it was mostly with older people. There were people weaving through the shelves of books and knick-knacks and walking around and around the rows of hanging clothes trying to find stuff to make the perfect outfit or simply to replace an old article of clothing. Chris and Jordan walked into the store followed by Porthos and Aramis who froze in the entrance way and looked around in shock and awe.

"How is that there are so many things?" Aramis asked as the four of them walked in and stood in the front area of the store.

"Alright. We need to find some clothes for you two." Jordan said. He turned and grabbed Porthos' wrist when he reached out to touch a porcelain piggy bank on a display shelf. "And don't touch anything! You break anything in here and we'll have to buy it!"

They wandered through the store to the where the men's clothing was situated and they began combing through it. Chris and Jordan were at the far end, closest to the exit and Porthos and Aramis were at the other end, closest to a wall with shelves filled with glass items and breakables odds and ends.

"What should we be looking for Aramis? All of these clothes… They look so strange to me!" Porthos said confused. Aramis could do nothing but shrug.

"I really do not know Porthos. There are so many clothes… Surely they must belong to someone of nobility." Porthos reached out and found a brightly coloured shirt covered with a loud floral pattern. He put it on happily then turned to show the boys.

"Will this work?" Jordan just stared at him.

"You're not supposed to look like a damn tourist!" Chris said loudly. "Technically you are a tourist but we don't want to you look like one." He yanked a plain blue shirt off the rack and tossed it to Jordan.

"Hold this." Jordan stood there, holding the shirt uncertainly.

"Uh…. What kind of clothes are we supposed to look for exactly? It's not like we know their sizes." Chris paused and looked at him with an 'I-hate-you glare.'

"You just reminded me of this now? Dammit Shawnee! Why didn't she tell us this?" Jordan shrugged. Chris growled.

"Let's just pick some normal clothes and get them to try it on. All we can do." They went back to shifting through the shelves, pulling off random articles of clothing that they thought might work to make a normal looking outfit when the yelling began.

"But I want this shirt!" "They already told you that you can't Porthos. Put it back!" "But Aramis I want this shirt." Jordan poked his head over the end of the rack to see Porthos and Aramis standing at a face off at the other end.

"Simply because you have no style –"

"What did you say?" Aramis demanded. "Come here you!" He wrapped his arm around Porthos' head, effectively trapping him in a head lock. Porthos backed up in hopes of causing Aramis to stumble but he backed up into the shelves against the wall. The one with all the glass and breakables. Chris was watching at this point as well as the two old warriors froze, hearing the sound of glass being shifted and the two looked up to see glass items falling towards them.

Porthos spread the shirt out, catching a bunch within it, and Aramis used the front of his cassock as a sort of basket. Porthos was still leaned over, holding the shirt net, when more items fell but landed on his back and forcing him not to move. Aramis found his arms overfilled and froze, knowing that if he moved, he would drop the lot.

A manager began to stalk over, face twisted with anger when Porthos' nose started to twitch. He wrinkled it, trying to calm the quelling storm but to no avail, letting out an echoing sneeze. The items on his back jumped and crashed to the floor and he moved the shirt in such a manner that most of the items on it fell out through the sleeves and shattered to pieces. He sneezed again, this time knocking into Aramis and sending his armload flying into the nearby section of the store where there were book shelves. Some other customers screamed as they were bombarded by missile like glass objects, running out of the area as fast as possible as they broke and shattered upon impact.

The two boys stood there in shock. Chris looked back over his shoulder to see the red faced manager standing behind them, glaring down at them. Jordan gave a sheepish grin.

"Hello there sir. We'll just be taking our uncles and going now."

"I don't think so kid. Your uncles just caused roughly fifty dollars worth of damage and it needs to be paid for." Chris dug into his wallet with a sigh and found that he only had forty five at his disposal. He shared a nervous look with Jordan and they both gave the manager big smiles.

"Could we pay you forty five and leave it at that?" The manager shook his head and gripping their shoulders, led them to a bench at the front of the store. Porthos and Aramis followed without question.

"If you four would sit here for a moment." He left them there under the eyes of the clerks at the checkout counters. Chris glared at the two ex-musketeers.

"Way to go you idiots! Now we're in big trouble!" They looked back at him, rather apologetic. The manager returned with a grim look.

"You will have to wait here. The police are on their way." Jordan leapt to his feet.

"What?! You called the police on us for accidently breaking a bunch of worthless junk?!" The manager didn't respond and Jordan sat back down.

It didn't take too long for a cruiser to pull up to the front of the store and a couple of officers walked in. The manager stood off to the side with them for a moment as they took his statement, leaving the four of them to think over what happened.

"We're so screwed… Shawnee is going to kill us for this." Jordan muttered. Chris stared out the window for a moment then shrugged at Jordan.

"Well you can find out now. I can see her and Brenna coming up now."

Shawnee stopped and frowned at the police car outside the store curiously.

"What the hell? Wonder what happened here…" She led Brenna, Athos, and D'Artagnan inside to see three or four people at the side of the store and the sounds of glass being swept off the hard floor. The girls shared a look and headed over to cash registers to spot the other four of their party sitting there.

"What did you do?! I simply told you to come and try and find some clothes for them! Not destroy the damn store!" Chris gave her a glare out of the corner of his eye.

"Don't blame us. Blame those fools. They got into a fight over a damn Hawaiian shirt by that section with all the glass stuff." Shawnee blinked at him and began to chuckle.

"A Hawaiian shirt? In late October? Please tell me you're joking." But for the looks on the boy's faces, it was obviously no joke. She pressed a hand against her face with a great sigh. "Oh brother…. What the hell have I gotten myself into?" Brenna gave a small giggle.

"I don't know… Maybe you should never have touched that sword?"

"Hey! I thought we agreed that was a complete accident on my part!"

"Well now I'm saying it's your fault."

"Gee… Thank you so much Brenna." Shawnee said; her voice full of sarcasm.

"Anytime." Brenna said back with a massive grin. Athos smiled at the altercation between the two friends. It was reminiscent of what the four of them used to do to each other; in fact still did from time to time. Shawnee glanced over her shoulder at where the manager was still talking with the officers.

"Did he say just how much damage you did?" Chris sighed.

"Fifty bucks worth. And I'm short five." Brenna frowned and pulled Shawnee aside for a moment.

"Think you can keep an eye on all of them at once?" She asked.

"Am I not the captain?" She responded with a smirk. Brenna rolled her eyes and cuffed her shoulder.

"Smartass. Look, just tell the musketeers why we have to be so careful and give the scolding I know you want to give to Chris and Jordan for screwing up. I'm going to try and fix this mess." Shawnee nodded, a slightly evil looking smile crossing her face.

"You got it Brenna." Brenna walked over to the manager and gave a cough. The manager looked down at her curiously.

"Hi there sir. I am a friend of those boys over there and I was wondering if you could tell me just how much in damage they did."

"At least fifty dollars worth miss."

"Well I have a proposition for you." Here she drew out her wallet from her backpack and pulled out a fifty dollar bill.

"How about I pay for the damages and you drop whatever charges you have to put against them and they'll never come in this store again." The manager frowned in thought before gently taking the money from her hand.

"Very well. I'm sorry officers." He said to the two policemen standing by.

"It's quite alright sir." One of the men nodded and they left. Brenna went back over to the group to find them in various states of impatience.

"We can get going to the mall now. The problem's been solved. Oh! One more thing… Chris and Jordan… You owe me. Big time."

And with that, the chapter is done ^^ I hope you enjoyed it.

*comes in quietly* Hi everybody! Sorry I haven't been around but I've been a bit busy lately. But I'm here now! Hope you liked the chapter.

Thanks to Kimyco and Lady of the Deep. Glad to see you're enjoying this story so far! See you all next time!


	3. Beware the Mall Rats

Chapter 3: Beware the Mall Rats

Hi! I'm back! It's me Athos! Back to help with the story again

Yeah…. Sure you are.

Boy do I feel wanted…

Hi my name is Porthos. I'm an alcoholic…. Ooo what's that? Something shiny?

Porthos! Act civilized!

Yup…. We finally got Porthos (Chris) to join us this time. Athos (Brenna) too

And I plan on being here for the whole story! Maybe not Porthos though… But me for sure!

Ooo… Shiny…

*sigh* I give up

Go read the story while we deal with Porthos and his shiny… whatever it is. Also, this chapter jumps…. A lot. If you do not like it, deal with it. That is all

October 28, 2009

Chris parked his silver Suburban van in an empty space and shut it off. The vehicle seemed to ring with the silence that settled within. Shawnee turned around from the passenger seat to look in the back at everyone there, Brenna, Jordan, and Aramis in the middle sections of seats and Athos, Porthos, and D'Artagnan in the back.

"Alright everyone. Let's get something straight here. You four…" She said, waving to the musketeers. "Are to stay by our sides and you do NOT leave the group unless one of us goes with you. Understand?" They didn't look too happy at the notion but they all nodded. Shawnee looked at Brenna and Jordan and sent Chris a side glance.

"That clear with you three too?" When they nodded, she smiled.

"Excellent! Then let's go explore the giant indoor marketplace that we call the mall or as I call it, the most boring place on Earth!" She popped open the door and hopped out o wait for everyone else who soon followed (after, of course, some problems with the three getting out of the backseat since the middle seat had to be pulled forward to allow exit.) The four men looked up in awe at tall, pointed, tinted glass and metal archway that stood over a nearby entrance, stopping right in the middle of the road. They pretty near jumped out of their skins when a car approached and honked at them because they were blocking the way. Brenna gave the driver a smile of apology and pushed the four of them over to the sidewalk.

"First rule to follow: Always stay on this." She stomped the cement to show them. "It's called a sidewalk. Staying on this unless we say otherwise will keep you from getting run over, injured and/or killed." Chris jumped in at this point.

"And those are cars. They hurt if they hit you."

"But… how do they move? There are no horses pulling them!" Porthos asked. Shawnee smiled.

"Think of them as coaches without horses. They do the same job as them anyway. Let's get inside everyone." She led them through a two sets of glass and metal doors and into a large open branch of the building. It was busy, noisy, crowded with people, with many stores already within in sight, all selling different products. While the kids were unimpressed by the sights around them, the musketeers looked around in awe.

"This place…" Aramis could find no other words to say, he was struck dumb by the sheer size and numbers. Brenna and Shawnee shared a smiled and chuckled quietly between themselves. Chris grabbed Jordan's arm and dragged him towards a big store.

"Come on! First stop is Zellers!"

"Chris, that's our only stop! That and the food court!" Shawnee cried out. "What's your hurry? Come back here!" The two girls chased after the boys with the musketeers racing after them. They stopped outside the store and Brenna whacked Chris upside the head.

"You're an idiot! We're trying NOT to cause a scene here!" Jordan looked up from the floor wearily.

"Chris… Do you mind? I want my arm back!" Chris dropped Jordan unceremoniously on the floor and left him to pick himself up.

"Ok then. There's your arm back." Jordan glared at him and stood. Aramis offered him a hand up and they both glared at Chris. The tall boy just shrugged and smiled.

"Come on you three. We've got to get some clothes for these guys and we have already caused enough noise. Can we possibly behave long enough to at least get them one outfit?" Shawnee asked, her tone being one of annoyance. The men's section was in the left side of the first floor upon entering from the mall. They walked over, getting weird looks from the other people in the store as they passed due to the men's strange clothing.

"Ok… You four spread out and go pick out a shirt that you want. And Porthos… Nothing really bright and flashy alright?" Brenna said, narrowing her eyes at the tall man. Porthos shrugged and smiled at her before the four men dispersed into the clothing racks.

"Do you think they'll actually pick something… decent?" Shawnee asked Brenna with a slightly worried air.

"I hope so… Or we're going to have to do it for them." Athos was the first to come back carrying a black button down shirt. Brenna nodded in acceptance and he smiled.

"There seems to be a lot of clothing here. It makes it a little hard to choose." He commented, watching the other three browse the racks. Shawnee snorted and looked away with a sneer.

"Yeah… Only if you're the right size for the clothes." Brenna sighed and gave her a sharp look.

"Don't start Shawnee." The girl shrugged and wandered over to a hat rack curiously. Porthos and Aramis came over, carrying a blue-grey shirt and gray shirt respectively, to which Brenna gave thumbs up in approval.

"You've got the right idea now. Hurry up D'Artagnan! We can't spend all day here." The musketeer captain was still weaving his way through the racks, being oddly picky. Shawnee sighed and stomped over, plucked up a white t-shirt with black trim and shoved it into his hands.

"Here. Just take this and let's go." She said as she pushed him back over to where the others stood waiting. Brenna smiled.

"Now we'd better make sure they fit. Wouldn't want Shawnee having to pay for something that doesn't fit." She led the party over to the men's change rooms and the lady there looked up at them with raised eyebrow as her eyes scanned over the clothes the men wore.

"We need four fitting rooms please." Brenna said politely. The woman nodded, smiling, and walked into the small corridor behind her to unlock four of the rooms. Brenna then waved the musketeers over to follow her and she shoved one into each room.

"Try on that shirt, come back out and show us then go back in and change back into your other shirt. Then we'll get out of here." Chris groaned in boredom.

"But this'll take forever! Can't we just go get food now?" Jordan rolled his eyes.

"We can't leave them here."

"Why not?"

"After what happened in Talize… Not a good idea." Shawnee put in. They waited rather impatiently as Brenna went through the whole deal of having the musketeers show her that the shirts fit and then go back in and change back. When it was finally over, Shawnee checked her watch irritably.

"That's it then. Time to pay for this and go get something to eat." The boys walked off and the girls and musketeers followed, heading for the row of cash registers by the entrance back out into the mall. They stood in the shortest line there was and waited as the people in front of them paid and left. Aramis looked at the grey machine curiously as they drew nearer and jumped when it made loud beeping noises as the cashier punched in numbers. When it was their turn to cash out, Shawnee pulled out her black wallet and extracted a plastic grey card and handed it to the cashier.

But before she could swipe it, the woman gave a yelp as Aramis leaned over the counter and into the small space before the machine and began to push buttons. The woman picked up a phone and went to dial for security when Jordan reached over and grabbed Aramis' arm.

"Come on uncle!" He said, stressing the title. "You shouldn't be doing that!" Aramis let himself be pulled away from the register and out of the store, back into the mall where Jordan sat him down on a bench and sat with him to keep an eye on him.

Shawnee walked out, a red plastic bag swinging from her hand and a stern frown on her face. She walked up to Aramis and grabbed his collar angrily.

"Next time you decide to make an idiot of yourself and us, warn us so we can stop you! Crazy old fool priest!" She dropped him unceremoniously back on the bench and walked down the wide corridor.

"Come on guys. Supper time." She led them to the food court which was packed with people of a variety of ages from the smallest of children to the oldest of seniors and long lines of people waiting to order food. They luckily found two tables of four that were close to each other and were able to move them over so it became one big table.

"What do you guys want to eat?" Brenna asked curiously. The four of them stared at her blankly, unable to respond.

"Brenna remember? They don't know anything about the food we eat." Shawnee said smiling and chuckling. Brenna rolled her eyes and gave her a light punch on the arm.

"Don't be a smartass. I was being polite. Unlike someone I know…" Shawnee shook a fist at her and playfully growled.

"Look why don't we just get them something from everywhere?" Jordan suggested. "That way they can try it and see what they like." Shawnee nodded in agreement.

"I like that idea. That'll work. Off you go you two. You're buying dinner." The boys gave her indignant looks but when her stern commanding look did not change, they stood and went to get started albeit with much grumbling. She smiled victoriously and tipped back her chair on two legs, tucking her hands behind her head.

"They won't be too long… At least I hope they won't."

"Shouldn't we help them? I mean, that's a lot of food they'll bring back, even with only forty five bucks." Brenna said, worrying at her bottom lip. Shawnee just waved it off.

"Relax Brenna I never said we weren't going to help them. Once they get the food and start bringing it over, we'll meet them halfway and carry it the rest of the way while they go get the rest. Nothing to worry about." Now put at ease, Brenna smiled and nodded.

"Speaking of which, here they come now!"

Porthos let out a loud belch and patted his stomach happily.

"Such excellent food you have here." Shawnee held her nose; her face screwed up is disgust.

"Next time you go to do that, cover your damn mouth!" Chris checked his watch curiously.

"Hey Shawnee… Think we've got some time to look around on our own?" The other two looked at her hopefully. Shawnee frowned.

"Yeah I guess… Is that alright with you four? We'll be right back. Fifteen minutes tops I promise." The musketeers shared a look of confusion at the request.

"I don't see why you have to ask us for permission." D'Artagnan said. "If you want to wander then off with you." Shawnee gave him a wane smile.

"It would be rude to simply stand up and leave without telling you. After all, you are our guests here."

The other three stood up with her and they all split up to head for separate stores. The musketeers sat there in silence for a moment, watching them leave and when they were out of sight, sighed heavily.

"This time is absolutely crazy!" Aramis said in annoyance. "How do these children stand it?" Athos sighed and looked around at the busy people.

"These people all seem to be in a great hurry. But to what end? To go where?"

"Who knows Athos. This time is simply strange." D'Artagnan muttered; taking a small sip from one of the sweet drinks the boys had bought. Porthos winked at a passing woman and she gave him an insulted look and marched off with her nose in the air. His face fell.

"Even the women are different in this time." He said sullenly. The other three resisted the urge to laugh at the large man's failure and continued watching the movement around them to pass the time, although it was moving at somewhat of a snail's pace. Athos pulled out his pocket watch sometime later to find that the time the kids had said they'd be gone had long since passed.

"The kids are late. It has been half an hour." He said worriedly, looking around at the corridor openings to see if he could spot the kids. Porthos, Aramis, and D'Artagnan began doing the same but they had no such luck either in spotting the teenagers.

"Maybe we should go look for them. Something could be wrong." D'Artagnan said, biting his lip.

"That sounds like a good idea." Porthos exclaimed standing. "I saw some stairs earlier. I think I will try up there."

"I will come with you." Aramis added, standing as well. "It's better to have more than simply your wandering eyes searching the second floor."

"Then D'Artagnan and I will search this floor." Athos stated as the pair of them stood. "I am sure we will find the kids. This… mall cannot have too many shops that they would go to." The four men split into their groups of two and went their separate ways for their searches then split up again when there was more than one way to travel.

When they had climbed to the top of the long staircase, Porthos went one way and Aramis the other in hopes of covering more ground. As Porthos walked, he soon found himself standing outside a store where it seemed many women were walking in and out of and a smile grew on his face. He strutted into the store, all confidence, but that look was quickly shattered as he found his widened eyes drawn to a large picture on the wall of a woman. And she wasn't wearing the most covering of clothes…

Aramis wandered aimlessly, scanning the faces he passed. His eyes glanced to his left and he stopped, staring at the store curiously. It was filled with books and outside of the store was a table with a couple of people browsing what was on the table. He approached quietly and found there to be more books there. He picked up a black leather bound volume and flipped it open only to not understand the words in any meaning and put it back down. He picked up another and gave an exclamation of shock. It was a Bible. And it was written not in Latin but in French.

'What kind of time have we become trapped in?!'

Athos and D'Artagnan wandered aimlessly, one on each side of the corridor, peering in every store on they passed. They met at the end of the corridor where it spilt off into two more and shared a look before Athos took the one on the left and D'Artagnan took the one on the right.

'Now that was actually rather fun!' Shawnee thought to herself as she strolled back in the direction of the food court. 'I hope the musketeer behaved themselves… Although I don't what'd I say to them if they didn't' She rounded a corner and scanned over the seating in the middle of the food court looking for four telltale people and frowned. She couldn't see them.

"Shawnee!" A voice called and Shawnee turned to see Brenna walking up to her.

"Hey Brenna. Find anything interesting?" Her friend nodded and the two of them stood talking at the edge of the food court, waiting for the boys to show up.

"Quick question for you Brenna… Do you see the musketeers at all in the seats? You're taller than me so I'm hoping you can get a better view." Brenna frowned and looked, her eyes searching quickly.

"Actually… I don't see them anywhere. Do you know where they are?"

"Not a clue." The two girls shared a look for a few seconds, Shawnee's expression blank, Brenna's curious, when their eyes widened suddenly as the realization hit them.

"The musketeers are gone!"

"Hey you two!" Jordan called out, Chris following. "You guys are early." The two girls bolted towards them and each grabbed one of the boys' arms and pulled them along as they marched.

"What the hell is going on?!" Chris demanded as Brenna dragged him along.

"We'll explain in a minute Chris!" Shawnee said, her voice slightly panicky. They stopped in front of the mall's fountain and as it sprayed a jet of water that reached up to the second floor, they made a plan.

"The musketeers are missing. We have to find them before they cause all sorts of problems and get themselves in trouble and most likely arrested for misconduct." Shawnee said firmly. "Any suggestions?"

"How about we get one of those rope things cowboys use and catch them that way?" Chris suggested. Brenna frowned.

"No Chris." She sighed, running a hand down her face in exasperation. "We spilt up in pairs and go look for them. Chris and Jordan check the top floor and Shawnee and I check down here. We meet back here at the fountain in an hour." Brenna grabbed Shawnee's arm and dragged her off back down the corridor and the boys headed up it and then climbed into the elevator after it was empty of people and rode it up to the second floor.

"Now what?" Jordan asked. "Do we just walk around and hope we find them?"

"That's if they're even up here." Chris grumbled, rolling his eyes and walking off in an arbitrary direction which Jordan simply followed. Their walk took them to a bookstore where there seemed to be a man yelling at one of the cashiers. The boys gave each other a raised eyebrow look and stared for a few minutes.

"Rock, Paper, Scissors?" Chris said without breaking eye contact or changing expression.

"Yup." The two of them held out flat palms and began to hit them with their other fist.

"Rock…" First hit. "Paper…" Second hit. "Scissors!" Third hit and their choices were revealed. Jordan groaned and with drooping shoulders, clomped over to the store. Aramis was standing there waving a Bible about and demanding questions of the cashier, a young woman in her early twenties who seemed awfully close to tears. Jordan hooked his arm around that of the ex-musketeer turned priest and dragged him from the store with him still trying to make his questions be answered. As they passed the table, Jordan grabbed the Bible from Aramis' hand and tossed it back onto the table and toppling over three others stacks of books which in turn toppled more and soon the books decided to spill off the table. The cashier came out of the store and stood there screaming at the two as they walked away and returned to Chris.

"Man that girl looks pissed! What was he doing Jordan?" Chris asked, laughing.

"He was yelling at her about something to do with a Bible he picked up in there." Jordan looked at Aramis with a raised eyebrow and the priest looked back over his shoulder at the store and glared.

"We better find Porthos." Jordan said and the three continued along their way, walking in silence and looking into passing stores until suddenly, Chris let out a wolf whistle and stopped in front of a store as two women left.

"I think I know where Porthos might be…" Aramis said with a small smile. Chris smirked at him.

"Well then, I'll go in and check." The tall boy walked in the store, his head held high, as the other two shared a look outside the door.

"How long do you think this'll take?" Jordan asked.

"I am not too sure. With Porthos, it could take quite a bit." Aramis answered, watching the inside of the store. Porthos came into sight with a woman who seemed to be giggling and the two males watched as Chris walked over to them and interrupted. The two of them talked for a moment but the woman made a comment and Porthos made to follow her but stopped when Chris grabbed his arm and went to drag him from the store. Then they both stopped and froze, looking up at large picture of scantily clad woman on the wall, their jaws practically hanging to the floor.

Time passed and Jordan and Aramis began to grow impatient. They tapped their feet, they sat on the bench, they paced back and forth, they peered in the store; still neither man came out. Aramis frowned and looked at Jordan.

"They should have come out by now. Go in and check on them would you?" Jordan gave the priest a sour look and stood with a sigh and walked into the store.

"Hey you guys! What are you looking… at…." Jordan slowed to a stop near Porthos and Chris and looked up at the picture.

"Wow…"

"Yeah Jordan… You said it." Chris muttered with a slightly dazed smile.

"Come along you three! We're leaving." Aramis had followed Jordan in after a few minutes when he didn't come out with the other two and was now holding onto their collars and forcibly dragging them from the store despite the angry protests.

"I haven't seen any of them yet." Shawnee said dejectedly, looking around at the people as they passed them. Brenna frowned and looked further down the corridor anxiously.

"We'll find them. They can't have gotten too far in here after all!" They found themselves passing a music store when a loud yell came from within and made them stop.

"Did you hear that Brenna?" Shawnee asked.

"Yes." Brenna answered.

"Did that sound like who I thought it did?" Shawnee asked again.

"Yes." Brenna answered again. They pushed through the crowd that had gathered suddenly around the front of the music store and stopped in shock.

"No Uncle Athos! Don't throw that!" Brenna cried, running forward to try and stop him.

Ten minutes prior…

Athos had been wandering down the corridor alone for quite some time, glancing into every store with an uninterested air. However, there was one that did catch his attention as there was the sound of low volume music drifting out. He walked in the small store curiously, examining everything and picking up the small squares of light see-through stuff with pictures on them and words he could not read.

He noticed a person standing in front of some sort of box and wearing some sort of hat that fitted over their ears and they were tapping their foot and swaying. When the person left, he went over to the strange box with its funny shaped black headgear and slipped it on his head, and looked around curiously when he found all the sound muffled.

Athos removed the headphones, holding them in his hands for a moment, before he put them back o and began to push buttons on the machine. He frowned when nothing happened and no sound came except a soft buzzing noise and he tried again. Still nothing but a soft buzzing came from the headphones and he became frustrated. He tried one more time and the buzzing stopped and he smiled to himself at his own ingenuity.

However that smile soon turned to an intense grimace of pain as his ears were assaulted with booming noise and loud voices. He held his hands to his ears, forgetting that the sound was coming from the headphones and found his anger at the contraption rising. He didn't notice that he'd started yelling and didn't notice the crowd of people growing, watching him as he struggled.

Now…

Athos whipped the headphones off from over his ears and smashed them harshly against the wall in a strong throw. Brenna grabbed his arm and dragged the dazed ex-musketeer from the store, Athos muttering vicious curses the whole way that had older women gasping in snooty distaste and younger people storing his words to memory. Shawnee ran up to the counter in a panic and pulled a twenty dollar bill from her wallet, frantically pushing it towards the person behind the counter.

"Here's twenty bucks. Use it to pay for the damage and please don't call security!" She begged, dropped the bill on the counter and sprinted away after the pair, finding them sitting on a bench as Athos recovered his senses.

"Is he alright?" Shawnee asked worriedly. Brenna bit her lip in thought.

"I hope so… I'm getting the feeling that it was really loud rock music playing in those headphones. He may be a bit out of it for awhile." Shawnee nodded and helped Brenna pull the man to his feet.

"We'd better find the others before anything else happens." She checked her watch and frowned.

"The hour is almost up. Let's head back to the fountain." The trip back to the fountain was relatively peaceful; no other disasters occurred but this was hardly comforting to the two girls because no disaster meant that they had not found any of the other three musketeers. As they arrived at the fountain, Shawnee's eyes widened in shock. There, standing right by the fountain was D'Artagnan. She went to make her way towards him but he did not see her and walked away, chuckling to himself at some thought he must've had. A large group of people blocked the way through and she growled in frustration, pulling lightly on her hair as she thought. She looked to her right and smirked, an idea forming, and she climbed the fountain steps then clambered onto the edge of the deepest part of the fountain (which would only come up to maybe her thighs if she was standing in it.)

"D'Artagnan!" She yelled, trying to get the man's attention. He didn't hear a thing, more preoccupied by the things around him. She growled again and standing up higher on her toes to try and allow her voice to echo further, she shouted a different name.

"Charles!" The man in question froze and spun around, searching hurriedly for who had shouted. Shawnee waved at him from the fountain edge but suddenly she began flailing frantically, eyes widening as her feet slipped from under her and she fell back into the fountain water with a cry.

"Shawnee!" Brenna yelled. She stopped at fountain edge, staring at her friend as she sat there soaked to the bone in the icy fountain water. She began to chuckle at Shawnee's predicament and offered a hand shaking with laughter to her.

"Glad to see my suffering is so amusing to you!" Shawnee yelled at her angrily, flicking locks of her drenched hair from her face. Athos and D'Artagnan stared at her, their lips rather pinched looking as they held back their laughter. A raucous laugh sounded from nearby as Chris and Jordan and Porthos and Aramis approached and caught sight of the girl that resembled a drowned rat. Shawnee gave them a vicious glare as she twisted her now curly, chestnut coloured locks to free the mass of water, spilling it all over Athos and D'Artagnan's boots. The men gave indignant cries but Shawnee ignored them.

"We are leaving right now. No excuses." She stated; her voice calm but menacingly cold. Her shoes squelched unpleasantly as she walked, the rest of the group following her towards the door they had entered the mall through in the first place.

"Shawnee… How did you know my first name?" D'Artagnan asked; his eyes narrowed suspiciously.

"That is no one's business but my own." She snapped. Jordan looked up and winced as they passed beneath an area where there was a peaked glass roof.

"Hey Chris… Do you think we should tell her that it's raining outside?" He whispered. Chris looked at him, glanced to Shawnee quickly and looked back to Jordan.

"Let's just let her find out for herself."

Oh… my… God… This chapter was seven dang pages long! I am simply insane . Hopefully it didn't drag too much for all of you but don't expect an update for a bit. I need a bit of a break.

That'll learn you for writing so much.

Shut up Chris…

I'm sure they liked it.

Don't forget to review and thanks go out to Ignotus Angelus and Kimyco for their reviews.

See you later!


	4. A Day Of Classes

Chapter 4: A Day Of Classes

And we're back again. Sorry it's been so long but Brenna's went to Disney land on a school trip so only having Chris to help me doesn't get much done….

Well I'm sorry I was away!

Anyhow, hopefully you enjoy this chapter. It's a bit slow but don't worry. We'll be getting back into some sort of action again soon.

October 29, 2009

"Insane! Absolutely damn insane!" Shawnee yelled as she rounded a corner with D'Artagnan trailing after her, coming into a large alcove of space. Brenna and Athos were there along with Alexiss and another boy who was absorbed in a book. Shawnee flopped down on the floor with a dismayed sigh and let her heavy books slip from her hand.

"What was I thinking taking all of these wretched courses?" Brenna shook her head at her friend's complaints.

"You didn't really have much of a choice if I remember right." Shawnee gave her a dark look.

"Shut up Brenna." Athos and D'Artagnan shared a confused look and looked at the two girls curiously.

"What do you mean by courses?" Athos asked. Shawnee tugged on her hair as she pulled one of the heavy books onto her lap and opened it.

"Classes. This is a school after all. Now don't bug me. I have to work on this history assignment." Shawnee skimmed over the open page with her eyes and groped with her left hand for a long cow shaped object sitting near her. Alexiss handed it to her.

"Here you are Milady."

"Thanks Alexiss. And don't call me that." Brenna and Alexiss shared a look and giggled to themselves.

"Would you rather I call you something else?"

"Like what?" Shawnee asked, not looking up as she began to scribble words on a paper.

"Whisper it in her ear Alexiss." Brenna warned. Alexiss shifted closer and leaned over to whisper in Shawnee's ear.

"What if I called you Lady D'Artagnan?" Shawnee's body gave a jolt and she glared at her.

"That's even worse! What the hell are you smoking?!" Brenna burst out laughing and pulled a sketchbook from her backpack and opened it to a blank page to begin to sketch. Athos came and stood over her, watching her begin to make the outline of a person.

"What are you drawing?" He asked. Brenna looked up at him, frowning.

"A faerie. And if you are going to watch me draw, then will you sit down? I hate it when people are standing when there is plenty of space to sit." Athos slid down the wall beside Brenna and proceeded to watch her. D'Artagnan walked over and looked down at Shawnee's writing on the paper as she frantically flipped through the textbook in her lap. He frowned and bent down to look closer at the paper.

"Your writing is very hard to read. I cannot understand a word of it." Shawnee paused and gave him a strange look.

"My writing isn't that bad!" She protested. He shook his head at her, chuckling.

"But it must be if I cannot read it." Brenna looked up at this.

"Maybe it's not because her writing's bad but actually because the magic from the sword does not allow you to read other languages." Shawnee smirked triumphantly at the man.

"See! Told you it wasn't my writing!" She stuck her tongue out impudently then turned back to her paper. The other boy who had yet to speak looked up at this small spat.

"Shawnee what are you working on anyway?" The girl froze and a nervous smile stole across her features. She pulled her legs in closer to her body and rested the book on them, using the paper to cover half of the page.

"Just a little bit of 17th century history Joey…" She muttered, scribbling then growling and scratching out what she wrote then rewriting it.

"Anything interesting in there?" Brenna asked curiously, looking up from the sketchbook at her over her glasses. Shawnee shrugged and turned the book towards her.

"Not unless the wars France, I guess it would be started or was in, are of any interest to you then no." Joey perked up at this.

"War? What's it say?!" Shawnee rolled her eyes and closed the book with a snap.

"I'll let you see it in a little bit Joey. Read your book." D'Artagnan watched the exchange with a small smile then turned his attentions to the new book Shawnee had opened. The girl sighed, catching his curious eye watching her and showed him the book.

"It's a law book oh-so-curious musketeer captain. Not that interesting by any means." A pair of loud twin laughs resounded and echoed in the hallway, approaching them.

"Chris and Porthos are here." Sighed Brenna as she reached into her pencil case for a blue pencil crayon. The laughing was suddenly silenced and everyone looked up curiously. Suddenly, a large black shoe was soaring around the corner and a yell sounded as Shawnee was hit around the head with the flying shoe. She rubbed the crown of her head, whimpering as small tears came to her eyes.

"What the hell was that?!" Brenna asked angrily as Chris rounded the corner, laughing uproariously.

"The flying shoe!" He yelled. Shawnee shot him a vicious narrow eyed glare.

"You may not live the day Chris." She snarled. Chris gave her a big cheesy grin. D'Artagnan stood with a frown and made to go around the corner when a boot came soaring towards him and slammed into his gut, effectively winding him. Porthos poked his head around the corner and looked down to see the other man crouched on the floor panting.

"Porthos! Have you no self control?" Athos demanded. Porthos shrugged, picking up his boot and Chris's shoe, tossing it to the boy.

"Yes. But Chris tried that and I thought I would as well." Shawnee reached over and smacked the man upside the head.

"Well now maybe you won't be such an idiot!" She yelled then winced and went back to rubbing her head. D'Artagnan stood and shuffled back over only to collapse against the wall alongside Shawnee, rubbing at his stomach and glaring at Porthos. Brenna bit her tongue and kept silent, trying not to laugh, but Joey and Alexiss both started laughing. Shawnee glared at the pair and muttered strong curses under her breath to which the musketeer captain listened in shock.

"Shawnee! Watch the language! The principal has already told us off for it before!" Brenna scolded tersely. Shawnee sent her a sideways glance and shrugged with disinterest, flipping pages of the book. Porthos lowered his head and peered at the book in Joey's hands.

"What does that say?" Joey stared at the man for a moment and quickly looked at the cover.

"How Guns Work. It's really quite interesting!" His eyes lit up as he began spewing off facts upon facts about many different modern day guns, gesturing wildly and describing their effects on targets as the musketeers listened, intrigued. Shawnee pressed her face into her palm, Brenna sighed in annoyance, Chris growled and shook his fist at Joey, and Alexiss tapped her fingers on the floor in boredom as he continued his speech. The boy's voice was cut off however by the shrieking ring of a bell and all of the teens groaned.

"Man… I don't wanna go to class!" Chris protested as he stood. The others made noises of agreement before Joey and Alexiss headed one way together and Brenna, Chris, and Shawnee went the other, the musketeers following.

"See you guys later?" Shawnee called as she walked towards the stairs, waving to the other two.

"Of course!" Brenna called back before disappearing into the hallway streaming with students pulling Athos along so as not to lose him. Shawnee sighed once they were out of sight and gestured for D'Artagnan to follow her.

"Come on. We'd better get to my first class so you can do your 'observing' dear uncle." She said with a smirk. D'Artagnan cuffed her lightly on the arm, smiling.

"You are rather impudent aren't you?" She flashed him a large cheesy smile and led him into a room filled with pairs of desks, taking a seat at the front. More students walked in, giving curious glances to the musketeer captain and whispering to each other after they passed and taking seats nearer to the back. Another bell rang, signaling the start of class and a few more students straggled in and the teacher walked in as well.

"Good morning everyone. I hope all of you finished your assignment I gave you a couple days ago. Please set them up here on the desk and we will get started." There was a shuffling of chairs as some students stood and dropped off their papers in a messy pile on a desk at the front while others remained seated, scribbling furiously as they added more to their papers. Once all the teens were seated again, the teacher took the papers, stacked them neatly, and set them aside.

"Alright. Now the assignment was to talk about a country and the conflicts that country encountered or caused during the 17th century. Would anyone like to share something interesting they learned?" Shawnee ducked her head, doodling on a piece of scrap paper. D'Artagnan looked at her in slight surprise, having expected her ready to speak since she was so loud before.

"Is something wrong?" He whispered to her as one of the students near the back started speaking about the Thirty Years War in Germany when it was fractured into more than 300 separate states as a result. Shawnee sent him a warning look.

"Nothing's wrong. I just don't like talking in class. Now shush. We're being rude." The teacher gave the pair a stern look, seeing them whispering, and Shawnee offered an apologetic smile. The class continued smoothly, with the teacher pulling out clear overhead sheets and setting up the machine for them to be viewed while notes were taken. D'Artagnan looked at the screen that the projection of the sheet was on, pretending to know what it said before whispering some more to Shawnee.

"What are you writing?"

"Notes about the 17th century wars. Can you leave me in peace? I'm trying to do my work!" She whispered harshly, glaring at him across the desk. D'Artagnan sat back with a contemplative frown, his head lowered as he listened and observed.

"What are we doing here?" Porthos asked in boredom. Chris sighed and shook his head.

"It's called English class. We learn English." He muttered in a snarky tone. Porthos glared at him.

"Well I must say it is rather dull."

"I'd have to agree with you there."

"Chris! Attention on the board please!" The teacher called sternly. Chris shrugged and watched the board with half open eyes. Porthos rolled his eyes and slumped back in the hard plastic chair, crossing his legs underneath the desk. He rested his chin on his chest and closed his eyes, falling asleep as he listened to the teacher's droning voice. Chris started rolling a pencil between his fingers and then looked to the ceiling with a thoughtful look. He glanced back down at the pencil then threw it point first at the ceiling. When it stuck there, he chuckled to himself.

"Chris, would you care to explain what is so funny?" The teacher ordered. Chris smiled and pointed to the ceiling.

"I stuck my pencil in the ceiling." At these words, the pencil fell and bounced off Chris's head. Chris glared down at the pencil where it stopped rolling by Porthos's feet.

"Stupid pencil…. I'll learn you to be a pencil!" He snatched it up off the floor, catching Porthos's arm with his head when he sat back up. The man fell backwards and lay sprawled on the floor, blinking in shock. The class stilled, all staring the musketeer as he extricated himself from the chair and pushed himself to his feet. Chris gave him a smile.

"Well at least you're not missing the lesson right?" Porthos glared at the teen and whacked him around the head with the back of his hand.

Brenna took a seat on one of the stiff backed black plastic chairs on the lowest step of the three level room. Athos took the seat next to her, partially in the aisle, and peered to the back of the room where there sat a plethora of strange instruments. Brenna pulled out her black case from her backpack and opened the snaps on it, revealing the long silver flute in disassembled pieces.

"I hope this won't be too boring for you." She whispered to the man as more chattering students walked in. Athos shook his head.

"This will hardly be boring." He picked up the second half of the flute and turned it carefully in his hands, examining every detail, pressing every button.

"However, I remember you telling me that you played the flute. This does not look like a flute." He said as he handed the piece back to her.

"It is a flute." She protested. "It's just changed from your time is all." She pushed the two longer pieces together but took the mouth piece over to the sink beside them to wipe it down with cleaner. Once that was done, she pushed the mouth piece into place and blew into it, causing an almost bird whistle like sound. The teacher walked in as the second bell sounded and the class's chatter hushed down until the only sound was that later arrivals still preparing their instruments.

"You may put your instruments aside for a while. We have some theory sheets to do first." The class groaned in unison and set their instruments gently out of the way, pulling out pencils. Brenna held out the flute to Athos to hang on to.

"I don't want it to get stepped on. Hold this for me please?" He smiled and took it from her, tipping and turning it in his hands. He tapped the buttons along the metal, frowning. Brenna watched with a small smile as she worked on the paper that had been handed out.

Jordan stood with a group of boys in the centre of the large barren room, talking with some friends as Aramis watched, sitting on a hard wooden bench at the edge of the gymnasium. A short teacher walked in, carrying a strange boxlike object.

"Alright all of you! Line up on the black line and we'll start the Beep test." He ordered. The teens groaned and slowly made their way over to the line with an air of being taken to the gallows. Jordan stood at the end of the line nearest the priest who was watching with curiousity.

"Beep test? What is that?" The teacher opened a slot on the boxlike thing and stuck something in, pressing a few buttons. A voice began to come from it. Its slow droning tone soon had Aramis tuning out until it began to count down.

"3… 2… 1… BEEP!" The thing gave a loud bong sound rather than a beep and the line of teens ran across the room then ran back when it beeped again. Aramis watched with bored eyes, resting his chin on his palm and turning his head as they ran back and forth. The space between beeps grew shorter and shorter and people began to drop off the line and move to the sides of the room. Jordan lasted well into the rounds, about six or eight, when he grew tired and came to sit beside Aramis.

"Was there a point to this at all?" He drawled the tired teen. Jordan took a deep breath and wiped the sweat from his brow.

"It's to test athletic skill." He muttered, sprawling out and leaning against the wall. Aramis watched him with a raised eyebrow.

"It certainly can't be too hard."

"You have to make back across the room before it beeps again. It gets harder as it goes."

"How difficult can it be to run across a room and back again in perfect timing?" Jordan gave the priest a long suffering glance.

"Well if you think it so easy, give it a shot once everyone's gone." Aramis nodded, his expression stern as they waited for everyone to head to the second floor weight room. Once the gymnasium was empty of people and echoed with silence, Jordan stood and began to fiddle with the stereo and Aramis readied himself at the line. Jordan glanced at him and at the man's nod, pressed the play button on the machine. Jordan sat against the wall alongside the stereo, watching Aramis make his way up and down the large room as the spaces between the beeps grew shorter and shorter. Aramis panted and dropped to his knees at the line at about the eighth round and Jordan hit the machine off.

"Told you it wasn't easy!" The teen called to the collapsed priest. Aramis simply glared at him, not having the energy to say anything more.

"Attention: Would all grade twelve students please make their way to the auditorium for the visiting schools assembly? I repeat all grade twelve students to the auditorium. Thank you." Crowds of students pushed through doors and took seats in the front and back rows, chattering gaily about being free from afternoon class and lamenting about being trapped listening to a presentation on post secondary schooling. Brenna shoved her way through with Athos into the auditorium then followed the crowds of people up the aisle of stairs to see sitting near the top of the room, Shawnee and D'Artagnan and Chris and Porthos.

"Why are you guys all the way up here?" She asked, taking the seat on the other side of Shawnee.

"We're up here so that nothing slips out and everyone hears it. It's safer." She responded quietly. Chris shifted in his seat and rested his legs on the back on an empty seat before him.

"Well at least we get footrests!"

"Put your feet down you idiot." Shawnee ordered. Chris shrugged and put one foot down. Brenna rolled her eyes and sighed then began scanning the remainder of the incoming people to spot Jordan. She smiled when she saw him and Aramis climbing up the steps albeit Aramis seemed to limp rather than walk. The pair of them took seats with twin groans of pain, Aramis more than Jordan, and the last of the stragglers walked in and took seats.

A lady with somewhat curly hair walked on to the stage and everyone hushed themselves and their neighbours. She smiled out to the crowd of students and raised the microphone.

"Welcome grade twelve students. Today, our guest speaker is from a well known science facility in Montréal, Quebec and he is here to speak to you about studying sciences of many varieties in Quebec. Please give a warm welcome to Mr. Robert McGillan." A man stood from the very front row of seats and walked up to the lady on stage and took the microphone and muttering swift thanks. He was tall, close to six foot, with dark red hair where the tips flared out at his temples. He sported a moustache and small beard the same shade as his hair. He was dressed in a simple gray suit.

"Hello there students. It is a pleasure to be hear speaking to all of you." His voice was a little gruff and his eyes drifted over everyone. "And as Ms. Polar said, I am here to talk to you about the benefits of studying science in Quebec." Chris began to fake snore quietly to himself and Brenna reached past Shawnee and slapped his arm with the back of her hand.

"Chris show some respect!" She whispered angrily. He looked at her and rolled his eyes to the ceiling. Shawnee shushed them violently and focused again on the scientist at the front. Porthos tapped his fingers on the arm of the seat and yawned loudly.

"My, this man is dull." He stated. Aramis elbowed him sharply and glared.

"Show some respect Porthos." The man snorted and waved off his friend's annoyance.

"But he is incredibly boring to listen to. Is there any point for us to be here?"

"It's so we can keep an eye on you." Shawnee whispered coldly. "Now shut up."

"Excuse me." A voice called. All of the teens and men turned to look down at McGillan standing on stage.

"I was wondering if you would all move down here and join the rest of us. I promise you I don't bite." He joked. Shawnee frowned and nodded; standing and leading the group down to midway along the back rows of seats. She saw the man frown in curiousity when he saw the musketeers but he only resumed his speech and ignored them for the duration of the assembly.

"Hey Shawnee…" Chris muttered.

"Hmm?" She hummed, letting him know he had her attention.

"Can we get everyone together after school by the front doors? I have something planned." She gave him a strange look between curiousity and suspicion and nodded.

"I don't see why not… So long as it's nothing dangerous!"

"It's not! Trust me!"

"I was afraid you'd say that…"

A dull chapter all around but at least it has been finished. Hopefully these beginning ones will pass quicker now that I've got this out of the way.

It's not that bad.

Anyhow, this goes out to our ever loyal reviewers IgnotusAngelus, Kimyco, and TurtleJustice. You guys are awesome.

See you next time!


	5. Evil Ice

Chapter 5: Evil Ice

Well we are back. Updates may have longer wait times because, as is mentioned briefly in this chapter, I have a job now. So I apologize .

Don't worry about it.

Thanks Brenna ^^ Anyhow, Chris is to thank for this chapter as it was his original idea. So thanks to him too.

WIN!

Without further ado (and hopefully no more silly comments), on with chapter five!

October 29, 2009

A large, one level building made of white stone appeared into view as the group rounded a street corner. Stamped across one of the facts of the building were the words 'Carling Heights Arena.' Chris marched along in front, hands tucked into his jacket pockets and a huge smile on his face to which Brenna appeared suitably wary of. She looked at the building with a skeptical eye and shared a worried glance with Shawnee.

"Why did you agree to this?" Shawnee shrugged to her friend's question.

"I have absolutely no idea." Aramis raised an eyebrow to her.

"You are the leader of this mess and you have not the slightest clue as to why you agreed to his scheme?"

"Pretty much. Have a problem with that old priest?" Said priest looked away with a disgusted sound and Alexiss giggled to herself.

They walked in and the musketeers found their arms wrapped around themselves and shivering. The building was cold as the winter season and their breath floated before them in small puffs. Chris walked up to the desk where a man sat behind it and he looked up with a bored stare.

"Can I help you?"

"I booked one of the ice rinks for a couple of hours." Chris said, handing over a piece of paper. The man took it from him and punched something in a computer.

"Alright. Rink A is the one you booked." Chris nodded and the man said nothing more, silently sending his on his way.

"Chris, why did you book an ice rink?" Jordan asked, perplexed. Chris shrugged and said "I was bored." Athos glared at the tall teen.

"Perhaps next time, when you are bored, you will choose a place that is a lot less cold!" The other three nodded in agreement and Chris walked through a door to the left that opened into a larger area surrounded by tall plexi-glass panes attached to a border set around a large frozen space.

"There is ice inside this building?" Porthos asked, pressing his cold fingers against the glass. Joey laughed.

"Well what did you think there was in an ice rink?" He quipped. Shawnee glanced around in confusion.

"Hey where did Chris vanish to?" There was a sudden loud smack and Porthos turned back to the glass only to gave a small, uncharacteristic start. Chris was there on the other side with his face pressed against the glass in a contorted expression. He waved and pulled himself off, running in place for a moment with his shoes before sliding down to the other end of the rink. Brenna ran around the side, waving for the others to follow, and came to a spot where the wall opened into a door. She gripped the edge of the wall tightly under her fingers and stepped on to the ice, balancing herself on her sneakers.

She pushed off from the wall and slid a short distance away before shuffling her feet and moving in a circle on the ice. Jordan pushed past the musketeers who were crowding the doorway and made no hesitation as he bolted out on to the slippery surface with ease.

"What the devil are you children doing?" D'Artagnan called as the three of them slipped and slid and raced around. Shawnee rested her folded arms on the barrier and watched silently with Alexiss as she laughed boisterously when Joey climbed on the ice and promptly fell, tripping Jordan and sending him sprawling as he passed.

"A little thing called skating gentlemen. Normally we'd have special shoes to do this but right now, who cares?" Aramis looked at her slyly.

"Then why are you not skating?" Shawnee blushed and looked down, twiddling her fingers.

"Can't skate." She murmured. Alexiss squeezed her in a hug and Shawnee patted her head awkwardly until she let go. Chris made a running start and upon reaching the middle of the rink dropped onto his butt and with a happy cry, slid along with wild abandon until there was another smack as he collided with the wall once more.

"Chris, are you alright?!" Shawnee yelled, leaning over the wall precariously. Chris stretched his hands up with thumbs up to everyone and they could hear him laughing. Porthos frowned and put a foot on the ice.

"If he can do this skating thing then so can I." He gave in reasoning to the surprised looks of his friends. He held on to the wall and then when he thought himself steady, let go. He took a step and dropped immediately to the ground with the laughter of the others ringing out.

"Porthos you can't walk on it!" Brenna shouted between giggles. "You have to glide!" She demonstrated with almost noble grace and stopped in the center of the ice to give them all a dignified bow and straightened up with a smirk. Shawnee shook her head with a smile.

"Easy does it noble girl." She catcalled. "Don't let your ego get ahead of you now." Brenna stuck out her tongue and gestured for Porthos to try and stand. He reached up and took hold of the wall to pull himself upright then let go again. He shuffled his feet awkwardly, forcing them not to rise, and glide stiffly across to her. His arms were thrown out wide like a tightrope walker and Brenna grabbed hold of his hands to stop him.

"See? It's easy!" Chris had finally gotten up from his collision with the wall and had made his way over.

"Race you old man!" Porthos's eyes went wide with indignation.

"Old man? How dare you!" He protested. The pair went to the other end and Brenna and Jordan moved to the side warily. As the two males slide down to the other end of the rink, Brenna leaned against the wall besides Shawnee and smiled.

"You coming out or no?"

"No." Brenna frowned and pulled on her hand, leading her towards the door.

"Why not?"

"I can't skate."

"I'll teach you." Shawnee set a foot on the ice unknowingly. Brenna pulled a little harder.

"Come on! It'll be fun!" The girl led her friend away from the wall and to the other side. Shawnee looked back, suddenly realizing where she was.

"You tricked me!" Brenna nodded with a bright smile and laughed as Shawnee tried to cuff her about the head but overcompensated and fell flat on her face. She glared up at the taller girl and remained lying upon the ice, folding her arms and pouting.

"Aramis! You're next!" Brenna called over. Alexiss laughed as the priest's face paled slightly and he looked at the ice shiftily.

"Don't worry Aramis." She soothed. "The evil ice won't kill you." He spun to face the short girl with wide eyes.

"Evil ice?!"

"Alexiss! Stop scaring them and let them find out for themselves!" Shawnee yelled from the cold, wet flooring. Jordan came over and began to taunt him, backing away from the wall whenever Aramis tried to swipe at him.

"You have to come on the ice to get me." Aramis made a low sound in his throat and glared at the ice as he stood in the doorway. He tentatively placed his feet and as soon as he believed himself steady, he took off after Jordan. There was another crack as Porthos and Chris hit the wall back the way they'd come and laughing as Shawnee dug her nails into Brenna's arm as she tried to keep her feet under her.

D'Artagnan and Athos remained with Alexiss behind the wall, watching as everyone enjoyed the slippery cold surface. Joey skidded to a stop before the two girls and muttered something quickly, waving over to the three of them. D'Artagnan frowned, narrowing his eyes in suspicion when he saw the two of them look their way then begin to whisper.

"Athos, I believe those girls are plotting something." He stated quietly. Athos looked up and upon seeing them, he nodded.

"Yes they are. Most likely how to get us on to the ice to try this 'skating.'" He said grimly, pulling out his pocket watch to check the time. He gave a small start when he looked up to see Joey was standing in front of them with a large grin.

"You guys coming out here or what?" The two musketeers shared a look then glared at him.

"No." They said simultaneously. Joey raised an eyebrow at Alexiss who shrugged.

"Ask the Captain." She said, pointing over to Shawnee who was watching with an amused smile. D'Artagnan tapped his fingers on his crossed arms thoughtfully, watching as she gestured and whispered to Joey and Brenna. Chris came over, followed by Porthos, Jordan, and Aramis but she shooed them away. Joey returned and waved for Alexiss to go to the where the open area ended on that side of the wall. He had her lean over the wall and whispered quickly in her ear to which she nodded with a giggle and a smile.

"Hey there!" She skipped back over, giving the two men a bright smile. Athos watched her warily, keeping an eye on Joey as well who had followed her back over and was standing by the open wall door.

"Yes?"

"How would you like to go for a walk?"

"To where?" D'Artagnan asked. Alexiss smiled and, grabbing their arms, turned them towards the ice with a feat of strength that would be considered unusual for such a small girl. They blinked in confusion then realization as they tried to pull away. She gave them a hard shove, causing them to stumble and trip over the lip of the step. Joey pulled their sleeves and dragged them the rest of the way on as Alexiss slammed shut the door. Athos leaned back, bracing himself with a hand behind him and another stuck out in front, legs spread apart with a look of particular discomfort. D'Artagnan had leaned forward, his legs almost going into a split and hands pressed hard flat against the chilly floor. He craned his neck around his arm to look at Athos, an expression of pain across his own features.

"Isn't this fun guys?" Shawnee asked, leaning down to look the musketeer Captain in the eye. She was given a vicious glare in return, promising great pain if he ever was able to walk again after being stuck in that position. Brenna smiled at Athos whose mouth twitched as he bit his tongue and focused on remaining standing.

Chris winked at Jordan and began to glide towards the two men, picking up speed. Shawnee looked up and paled. "Chris stop!" She yelled. He didn't listen and kept coming. She wrapped her arms around D'Artagnan and dropped both of them to the ground. Brenna tackled Athos and they slid across the ice like penguins. Chris skidded his feet, flailing his arms and feet.

"Whoa whoa whoa!" He cried as he slammed into another wall leading into an open area. His body remained stuck to the door as it swung open and after a few seconds delay, he flopped back on the ground with a groan.

"Chris!" The girls yelled as they left the musketeer's sides to check on him. He sat up and laughed. "Do it again!"

"Chris, you're an idiot." Shawnee said fondly, cuffing him around the head. The two of them made their way back on the ice and Chris went to follow when he looked back and smiled. A door sat a little way around the corner with a metal label upon it saying "Storage."

D'Artagnan and Athos held each other's arms and held themselves upright; taking small shuffling steps as they tried to get off the ice but every time they came close, one of the girls grabbed them and pulled them back out again.

"Why must you make us do this?!" D'Artagnan yelled in a cry of long suffering. His nerves seemed a bit frazzled from the constant falls and his hair was a mess from him pulling on it in agitation. Athos growled angrily, frustrated also since every time his friend went down, he was following right behind him. And because of this circumstance, he would most likely not be sitting too well for the night.

Aramis and Porthos watched all of this without offering to aide, finding their lack of skill on frozen water humourous while they had adapted to it. Shawnee and Brenna circled the two men, sometimes finding themselves either faceplanted upon the ground or on their butts. Although they were unable to prove whether the men had anything to do with these little "mistakes" even though they continuously denied it.

Joey chased Jordan around, sometimes catching him and trapping him in a headlock which he squirmed and brought both of them down then made his escape and it would start all over again while Alexiss bounced and clapped and laughed at every mistake.

"Hey there!" A voice called suddenly. Everyone stopped and turned to see Chris finally emerge from the storage area dressed in a strange get-up. He had on a hockey helmet, a pair of gloves tucked beneath one arm, and carrying an abundance of sticks under his other. He stepped out onto the ice and gestured for everyone to come closer.

"Gentlemen, arm yourselves!" He said as he threw each musketeer a stick. D'Artagnan dropped upon catching his, his face flushing with embarrassment as the other three laughed at his expense. The teens all picked up a stick but to make the teams even, Joey retreated to join Alexiss on the sidelines to keep score.

"Jordan, Shawnee, grab the nets will ya? I left just inside the door." The pair slid to where he'd said and found a pair of hockey nets waiting for them. They dragged one out at a time and set it up in proper place.

"Alright guys! The object of the game is to shoot this:" Here he held up a puck. "Into your opponent's goal using only this." Here he raised the stick and dropped the puck to bat around the thick plastic circle with the scooped wooden curve. Aramis rubbed his chin thoughtfully, watching every move critically. Athos and D'Artagnan watched annoyed boredom and Porthos looked on with excitement.

"You four will play as a team." Jordan waved to the far end of the ice. "And we'll be your opponents. First one to five goals wins." The musketeers nodded and slipped and slid across to the other side with an almost weary gait.

"This should be easy." Brenna said, standing in the right wing forward position. Jordan took up guarding the net with Chris acting as defence. Shawnee took the forward position and waited as the men made their decisions after watching them choose.

Surprisingly, Aramis came up to face off against Shawnee while Athos remained back as a wingman with Porthos in net and D'Artagnan on defence. Joey came out from the side and caught the puck with his foot as Chris shot it over to him. He dropped it and Shawnee stole it immediately, Aramis spinning around in a bit of surprise. Brenna followed her and when she'd passed behind Athos, who had focused more on Shawnee, her friend sent the puck her way. Brenna slapped it hard with the stick and sent it flying between both D'Artagnan's and Porthos's legs.

"Goal!" Joey and Alexiss yelled happily. Aramis growled as Shawnee passed him with a large victorious smirk.

'This... means war!'

Time passed quickly and goals were scored in numerous ways. Athos got one in on Jordan with Aramis's assistance, having been tripped by his teammate and with his stick, accidently flicked it into the top right corner over Jordan's shoulder. Shawnee lost the puck on another one to D'Artagnan but Chris swiped it back when it was passed to Aramis and made a shot from center ice and scored.

The ending result of the time spent on the rink was a win for Montcalm. The musketeers seemed sweaty, tired, beaten (due to their opponents getting a little too into the game and doing some body checking.), but in all, they seemed pleased. The two teams shook hands to the two person applause and left the rink after all struggled to clean up the equipment they had borrowed.

As they stepped outside, revelling in the chill autumn air, Shawnee caught a glance at her watch's face. Her face paled and she threw her courier bag to D'Artagnan with a quick apology and began to run, wallet in hand. "Where are you going?" He called.

"Work! I have to leave now if I want to make on time!" Brenna shook her head as Shawnee rounded the corner to head back up to the bus stop.

"Joey, you're heading past her place aren't you?" When he nodded, she continued. "Then would you mind taking him back there? She seems to have forgotten that."

"Sure no problem." The group marched as one up the street to the corner where they then spilt up with Brenna, Athos, Chris, and Porthos heading down the street and Jordan, Aramis, Joey, D'Artagnan, and Alexiss going the same way Shawnee had. They saw her still running up the inclining street until she turned past the church on the corner and vanished. A bus passed five minutes later.

When D'Artagnan was dropped off at Shawnee's home, he stood on the porch in confusion. He did not have keys and he was standing out there, getting chills from the cooling sweat on his back, and holding a courier bag heavily laden with books.

"What the devil am I supposed to do with this?!"

And with that, it's done already.

HOCKEY WIN!

Yes Chris... It is a win moment. Thanks go out to our only reviewer Kimyco. Come on guys! Reviews are not that hard to write!

See you next time!


	6. Identity Crisis

Chapter 6: Identity Crisis

And here we go with another chapter. Brenna has gone now for the summer… I miss her already. Chris was too busy to be my wingman on this so…

Hello Lady Shawnee!

Hey Shawnee!

Hello Alexiss… hey Joey… What are you doing here?

Helping!

*crickets chirp*

*stares* Umm…. Thanks… On with the story

October 30, 2009

People walked through the halls, dressed in hats and face paint and strange clothes. Some wore wings, others wore capes, and others still wore funny coloured hair. It was the day before Halloween and it was the day the school celebrated it.

"Brenna why are all of these children dressed so oddly?" Athos asked as a girl dressed entirely in black with a snow white powdered face walked past with another girl dressed in bright blue and pink with large wings on her back.

"It's called Halloween. We all dress up in costumes and little kids go around to houses to collect candy. But it's always fun to dress up so we like to do it too." In her hand was a large black bag which she carried extra carefully. Athos looked at it curiously.

"Is that your costume in that bag?" She nodded with a wide smile.

"That's right. And that's why you were able to wear the clothes you arrived in. No one will think anything of it!" She stopped talking abruptly when a pair of arms wrapped themselves around her, lifted her, and spun her around. She squealed and swatted at the person holding her.

"Shawnee don't do that! You spooked me!" Shawnee giggled impishly and waved her bag at Brenna.

"I've got mine. And I see that you have yours. Have you seen the others yet?" When she shook her head, Shawnee frowned.

"Hopefully they get here… soon." Her voice trailed off as Jordan and Chris rounded the corner in full costume. Jordan wore his dark blue hockey coat over a black shirt and blue jeans and sneakers. In his hand, he held a black hard felt hat with a pair of white plumes, one large and one small. Chris was dressed in a light blue shirt and black jeans, sneakers as well, and his black hat was plumed with a large black feather overlapped by a smaller red one, almost looking like a splash of blood. Porthos and Aramis walked up from behind them, happily dressed in their own clothes. Porthos stretched with a loud content groan.

"It is good to be back in our clothes again!" Brenna rolled her eyes and chuckled.

"It's only for the day so enjoy it. Shawnee, don't we have something we have to do?" She prodded her in the back towards a washroom. Shawnee glared at her and grabbing her arm, dragged her through the door and leaving all the men standing there in surprise.

"My, that was… odd." D'Artagnan quipped as they watched the closed door. Aramis looked at him with a raised eyebrow.

"These children are nothing if not odd. Has it taken you this long to notice?" The musketeer captain glared at the priest and opened his mouth to retort but was cut off by a cough. They turned as one to see that the girls had changed clothes.  
Brenna was now dressed in black slacks with a drawstring and a white shirt with a blue button up blouse over it. On her head was another black hat, this one holding overlapping plumes of a large white feather and a small blue one. Her hair was pulled back into a ponytail at her neck and she wore flat black slip on shoes.

Shawnee wore baggy brown pants and a white ruffled shirt with a calf length coat of dark blue cloth over it. Her boots were brown with black along the bottom from the toe tip to the heel and her black hat was set at a jaunty angle on her head, the large blue feather and the small white one looking a little shabby as if they had been played with often.

"What do you think gentlemen?" She asked nervously, pulling lightly on the hat brim. The four men shared a look and D'Artagnan stepped forward, sweeping her hair back from her shoulders.

"There. That's better." Shawnee shook her head and laughed.

"I'll take that as an approval I guess. Now let's wander!" They strode out into the foyer and Joey and Alexiss walked up to them. Joey had on a black hoodie with the hood pulled up over his face and black pants. He carried a tall plastic axe. Alexiss was dressed in blue jeans and a black shirt with a gray and black plaid hat on her head and her blue gloves.

"Morning Milady!" She said, jumping and landing in front of them. Shawnee pulled her hat further over her face.

"Told you don't call me that…" She muttered. Jordan laughed and poked her.

"Ha ha. She still hasn't learned."

"Shut up Jordan."

Groups of students turned and looked at the gathered group quietly, surprised to see so many people in like costumes. Brenna waved demurely, smirking.

"What's the matter? Haven't you ever seen musketeers before?" Chris asked to the crowd. The others all turned away and returned to their conversations. The bell rang and Alexiss looked at her watch in shock.

"Wow! Time flew! See you guys later!" Everyone split up hurriedly, not seeing a man walk into the building from the back doors down the hall.

McGillan watched as the students all wandered past him and he spotted the four men easily in their clustered group with the four teens. He frowned and watched them for a brief moment as the bell rang and they went their separate ways. Under his arm, he held a file folder filled with papers. His steps took him straight across the foyer to a blue doom with a metal plate labelled "Principal" and he rapped smartly on it with his knuckles.

"Come in." A voice called from within and he turned the silver knob to enter past the wooden barrier. An older woman sat at the dark brown wooden desk within, a pair of glasses perched on her nose. McGillan gave a warm smile and took a seat.

"Dr. McGillan this is a surprise. Is there something I can do for you?" She asked. He chuckled somewhat darkly and handed her the folder of papers.

"Actually there is Ma'am. I did a bit of research on the gentlemen you have welcomed into your school, the teachers here examining the school system I believe I've heard them called. I thought that of all people who could understand the gravity of what I found, it would be you."

She opened the folder to find a list of photos, under which was names, and frowned upon seeing nothing that would give reason to the man's visit.

"I am sorry but I do not see what it is."

"Exactly." He said with a smirk. "There is nothing there because they are not teachers. These are pictures all the teachers of those who teach high school level children within the vicinity of Paris. And if you look again," He flipped the pages slowly before her, giving time to examine them with more scrutiny.

"None of them match your guests."

Her frown deepened, her forehead crinkling with worry as she stared down at the pictures in silent thought. His smile widened at her expression but he quickly stifled it as she looked back up at him.

"What would you suggest?" He leaned forward, resting his elbows on the armrests and folding his fingers together.

"I would suggest you call the four students down and one at a time with their 'companions', bring them in and allow me to speak with them."

"I cannot let you do that. Not without parental supervision as all four of these teenagers are underage."

"I understand that Ma'am. But this could be a matter of danger for them. The time it would take getting permission from all of their parents would waste time we could have questioning them. Surely simply having you sit in would be sufficient?" His voice was full of charm and persuasion, playing on the 'danger' aspect he'd mentioned. She pursed her lips, glanced down at the pictures again and back up to the man before her. She stood and walked out the other door close to her, heading into the main office to quickly mutter a few words to the secretary.

"They should be here momentarily. I am having the secretary page them down from classes." Immediately after she said this, the announcement came over the PA system, sounding throughout the building. When the principal sat back down at her desk and began to work on the computer, he allowed a smirk to cross his features.

Feather bobbing as she walked, Shawnee strode towards the office with a strict frown, upset at being pulled from the history class. D'Artagnan marched alongside her, worriedly biting his lip. Something about his did not feel right to him.

"Shawnee, does this not seem odd to you in the slightest?" He asked. She shrugged and stopped in the middle of the foyer to look up at him.

"No why? Does it to you?" At his nod, she became puzzled and looked at the office warily.

"Well, there's only one way to find out. I can see the others already there. Let's go." She pushed open the glass door and Brenna looked up from her seat right beside, Athos standing against a map of the city bus routes that hung on the wall.

"Do you have any idea what's going on?" She whispered furtively. Shawnee shook her head and looked over at Chris and Jordan sitting on the other two chairs with Porthos and Aramis standing side by side against another portion of wall and halfway across the doorway into the back part of the office. The secretary talked into her telephone headset briefly then hung up once the call was finished.

A man walked out of the principal's office and Shawnee frowned, narrowing her eyes suspiciously as she recognized him as the presenter from the day before. She nudged D'Artagnan in the ribs and tipped her head to show him what had her attention. His lips tightened and he seemed suddenly a bit more alert, as seen by his stance, but there was almost nothing to show his surprise.

"Ah good day to you!" He said, extending a hand to her as he pushed past the two ex-musketeers blocking the doorway. She took his hand loosely, trying not to touch him. Something about him just made her want to wash her hands until they burned from the scrubbing. He smiled, a creepily charming smile, and gestured for her to walk into the principal's office.

"I just have a few questions for you Shawnee and your uncle if you would not mind answering them for me. Then you can get back to your class." She nodded, her mind whirring. Who had told him her name? D'Artagnan tucked his hands behind his back and marched behind the pair and was the last in the room as McGillan shut the door, sealing them in.

Mrs. Mills waved for them to have a seat and they did, Shawnee leaning forward in her seat and D'Artagnan crossing one leg over the other, tapping his fingers on the limb contemplatively. McGillan smiled again and half sat on the desk, staring at them for a moment.

"Dr. McGillan has brought something a little disturbing to my attention Shawnee and as you were the one to vouch for these gentlemen, I thought it would be appropriate to ask you." Mrs. Mills said calmly. Shawnee nodded, folding her hands and watching the scientist out of the corner of her eyes. D'Artagnan kept his head bowed but peered through some of the hair that had fallen into his vision to observe the man. His stance seemed prideful, eager for conflict.

Mrs. Mills handed the teen a file folder and she opened it to see many labeled pictures staring back at her. She flipped the pages with bored fingers, gave a yawn and closed it when finished.

"I do not see the problem Mrs. Mills." The woman looked to McGillan. He crossed his arms with a smirk and chuckled darkly.

"Young lady, your uncle is not a teacher. Those are the IDs of every teacher of high school level teens such as yourself within the area of Paris. Perhaps you would care to explain why that may be?" D'Artagnan sent Shawnee a sharp look as her cheeks blanched of all colour. She flipped hurriedly through the folders only to confirm the scientist's observations. She swallowed a hard lump in her throat and forced an amiable smile on her face.

"Dr. McGillan, my uncle here is just a curious man. He wanted to know how I spent my day and he happened to bring his friends with him who are the uncles of my friends and they wanted to know too." The excuse was weak, even she knew that, but under such duress it was the best she could think of. The musketeer captain flinched in his seat, seeing the scientist's eyes light up gleefully at her words, knowing that he could pierce through them in a heartbeat.

"Well if they are your uncles then perhaps you would not mind telling me your uncle's name?" He said with a victorious sneer. Her face lost all expression as her mind raced. Should she deny, it would prove that he was not her uncle at all but if she told, there would be more trouble than she cared to think about. She pursed her lips and the two of them glared at each other, one challenging; the other fighting against.

"His name is Charles." She muttered finally. McGillan chuckled and shook his head.

"His last name too, if you please." She ran her hands along the arms of the chair she sat in thoughtfully.

"His last name?" D'Artagnan bit his lip, watching the teen warily. McGillan's look became eager and impatient but something in his eyes said he already knew the answer.

"Now!" He yelled. Shawnee jumped and glared at him.

"Find it out yourself dumbass!" She leapt to her feet and picked up the chair by its arms, tossing it at the man furiously.

"Catch!" As he caught the chair but fell to the ground, the pair jumped over it to reach the door and flung it wide open, smashing it against the wall with a loud bang. They slid across the tile flooring behind the secretary's desk and everyone stopped to look up at them.

"We have to get out of here!" Shawnee screamed, running forward and grabbing at Brenna and Athos's sleeves. They remained still, looking at her in confusion.

"What do you mean? What happened?" Athos asked, looking back to the door. She growled and tugged harder.

"No time! Let's go!" Chris hopped to his feet, practically throwing Jordan and Aramis out the now opened office door and Porthos was given a push by D'Artagnan to set his feet moving. They stood grouped in the foyer, Shawnee peering around frightfully.

"There they are! Stop those men!" A voice yelled. McGillan was standing by the other door to the principal's office, pointing at them. The doors down the hallway and in front of them opened and a crowd of police came in.

"Run!" Shawnee cried, rushing towards the back of the school where more police were running towards the building from the back parking lot. She rounded the corner, the other seven hard on her heels, and she took the steps down into the cafeteria two at a time, stopping once when she slipped and almost went into the splits only to be grabbed on the arm by Porthos to steady her.

They burst into the large, low ceilinged room, panting and spinning around. Yelling sounded above them and footsteps pounded ever closer. Jordan glanced to the other end of the room to see the area where the line for the cafeteria would be.

"There's a door over there!"

"Come on!" They rushed for the door and poured in as the police made it to the cafeteria. Hearts jumping in their throats, they ran through another door into a narrow white stone hall leading off towards another part of the school.

"Is this a secret passage?" Aramis asked curiously then snarled as he was jabbed in the ribs by Chris.

"Not exactly. We're behind the cafeteria kitchen. I don't know where it leads though as I've never worked my way around it."

"Then we take the chance." Brenna stated firmly and pushed past her to walk down the hall. As she passed the open door that led into the kitchen, no one pointed her out or yelled at her to get out. No one even noticed her.

"It's a dead end!" Brenna whispered back angrily. "We're in a passageway to no where!" Shawnee frowned and looked back to see even angrier stares.

"At least we're hidden…" She muttered quietly, looking at the ground. Jordan cracked open the door and snapped it shut again as the other door across the small room they had been in before began to open.

"Not for long! They're coming through."

"Then we go through the kitchen!" Chris pushed past the others, getting angry pained cries as they squished themselves against the wall to let him by and followed him as they barreled through the kitchen, causing one of the ladies to drop a try of hot food and another to toss scoopfuls of salad as they gave her scare when they passed her suddenly.

"There they are!" A male voice called and the kids and men ran as fast as their legs could carry them out and up the stairs then up another set just around the corner, taking them to the second floor. The halls up there were deserted and eerily quiet as they kept walking, panting and whipping around at the slightest sound.

"What do we do now?" D'Artagnan asked quietly. It seemed almost wrong to speak loudly now, even if there was no one around.

"We have to get out of here." Shawnee panted, resting her hands on her knees as they stopped by the French rooms. Brenna crossed her arms and glared at her.

"And how do you propose we do that captain?"

"My suburban is by the auto shop." Chris said suddenly. "We can get out through there."

"Yeah…. And I've got that damn minivan." Shawnee said as she brushed hair from her face. "We just may be able to pull it off."

"Then what are we waiting for?" Porthos demanded, punching a fist into his other palm, eager for a fight.

"It is a sensible plan." Aramis agreed.

"Except for one thing." Jordan put in. "Where are we going to go if we run?"

"I can think of one place." Shawnee said with a determined frown. "But let's focus on getting out of this hellhole first. Last thing we want is that damn scientist getting his hands on any of these guys."

"You're right." Brenna said, pondering. "Then let's get going to the shop. From the sounds of it, we don't have much time to spare!"

Athos nodded in agreement, raising a hand to scratch at his neck when Brenna grabbed his wrist suddenly.

"Athos what's wrong with your hand?!" He gave her a strange look then yanked his hand away from her grip only to stare at it. It had grown exceedingly pale and if he squinted slightly, he could see the tiles under his feet through the skin. Shawnee pressed hand to her face in exasperation.

"Well… Now we have an even better reason to get out of here. If we don't get you guys home soon, it looks like you're going to fade away!"

Chapter's over. Hope you liked it.

I hate McGillan. He's an ass.

Yeah… We all know that Joey. Anyhow, thanks to Kimyco for the only review.

That's me!

Yes Alexiss that is you. See you all next time


	7. Bargin Gone Wrong

Chapter 7: Bargain Gone Wrong

I'm back! Sorry about the wait… But writing on my own and also doing a part time job as well as parents harping does not make things easy. But no complaining for me right now. There's a chapter to be read!

Warning: There seems to be much cursing in this chapter

For god sakes D'Artagnan what the hell are you doing here?

Helping.

*glares* Gee… thanks

October 30, 2009

The halls were silent; oddly so considering the commotion that had happened so shortly ago. The police were spread all along the first floor in pairs and groups and McGillan stood by the main office, seething and holding an ice pack against his forehead. One of the chair arms had connected with his head when he caught it.

"Where are those wretched brats?!" He demanded angrily, swiping the ice pack through the air.

"They're on the second floor sir." A young officer answered. The scientist glared at him viciously.

"Well why are you not up there trying to bring them down? Those men they are with are a danger this school and those poor children!" The officer saluted and walked over to a group where there was a lieutenant among them. The man then gestured and took five men up the main stairs by the front door. McGillan gave a discreet smirk and held the ice pack to his wound once more.

'It will not be long now…'

"I hear footsteps…" Athos muttered, looking over his shoulder. Brenna held a finger to her lips and everyone stilled, tense with anticipation. A group of murmuring voices floated around the corner and Shawnee frowned darkly.

"Great. They came upstairs." She hissed angrily. D'Artagnan looked at her then looked down the hall as the voices drew nearer.

"We had best leave. They are getting closer." She glared at him and pouted in thought. She waved Brenna closer to her.

"Brenna," She began to whisper. "Take the musketeers and Jordan and lead them around for a bit. I get the feeling we're going to have to cause a distraction of sorts to get the hell out of here."

"And what did you have in mind?"

"Well the auto shop offers a lot of options on that front."

"The teacher's going to kill you." Shawnee shrugged at that and winked at her, grabbing Chris's arm to drag him away.

"Good luck. Chris, come with me. We're going to go set a few traps." They vanished down another stairwell and that left Brenna with the all men. The police rounded the corner and stopped in surprise.

"Run!" She yelled and the others did not think twice, taking to their heels as a series of shouts came from the police.

"Halt!"

"Stop!"

"Ignore them and keep running!"

They dashed into a rather narrow hall and someone stepped from the boy's washroom.

"Hey guys! What's wrong?" Joey asked with a wave and a smile.

"Not now Joey!" Jordan yelled. Brenna grabbed his shirt and pulled him along.

"Come on! We may need your help with this." Their feet pounded the floors, echoing through the halls as they found themselves in the open area above the foyer on the floor just beneath them. One of the auditorium doors stood open before them, held open by a juice box that had become wedged in there.

"Brenna look!" Aramis pointed. The girl waved for the others to follow and they charged down the steps, taking them as quickly as possible without falling on their faces. The door slammed open against the outside wall and the police ran down after them.

"They found us!" Porthos yelled.

"We can see that you great oaf!" Aramis yelled at him and they all kept running. Athos crashed through another door and cried out, running back in holding the bar to keep it shut as it was pulled on.

"D'Artagnan!" He shouted. The musketeer captain came over and held it with him, the bar becoming slippery under their sweaty palms.

"Let go of the door you two! We have to leave!" Brenna shouted to them. There was a trumpet case sitting abandoned or forgotten on the stage and she ran over to take it as the police chased her.

"Halt young lady!" One of them ordered only to have the case tossed at him. The others froze in surprise and Aramis opened another door on the other side of the room, piling through it with Porthos, Joey, Jordan, and Brenna. Athos and D'Artagnan let go of the handle abruptly and fled between the first police group, shoving them aside and bursting through the open door frame. They went up the hall they were now in and turned left. Alexiss walked down from a short flight of steps and stared at them.

"What's going on?" She asked curiously.

"We're being chased around the school!" Joey panted. "And I don't know why!"

"No time Joey. We have to keep them from the musketeers. That's all you need to know right now." Brenna muttered.

"Then count me in too." Alexiss said with eyes full of determination. She scanned the group, looking for one person in particular.

"Where's Lady Shawnee?" She asked worriedly. Brenna frowned.

"The auto shop. Guess we should head there now. Hope they're ready…" She started a light jog down the hall in suffocating silence, the rest trailing after her and constantly looking back. She poked her head around the corner to see that McGillan was walking towards the classroom door of the shop with a couple of officers, one of them holding a strange looking gun. Joey leaned over her and stared with a dropped jaw at the gun in the officer's hands.

"They've got damn tranquilizers! How'd they get those so fast?! I expected tazers." Alexiss glared.

"Be glad they aren't tazers. Those things could kill us!"

"What are tazers?" Porthos asked in his booming voice. D'Artagnan clapped a hand across the giant man's mouth and gave a violent shush, both of which echoed horribly. McGillan stopped suddenly and turned in their direction.

"Check down there." He ordered in a growl. "I heard something." The officer without the gun walked forward as one of the shop doors opened.

"Hey mad scientist! Looking for us?" Shawnee taunted with a smirk. She blew a raspberry at him and ducked back in the room at his roar of rage.

"You little wretch! Get back here!" He whipped open the blue door and stormed in only to trip over an air hose stretched across the opening as a tripwire.

"You really should learn how to walk!" She taunted as Chris laughed. She stepped over him and shouted down the hall, waving a huge silver wrench that was as long as her arm.

"This way guys! Hurry!" They did not need telling twice. It was like a wave crashing towards the door as the group of eight rushed over. They hopped over McGillan and avoided the hose, staggering slightly on their steps and finally stopping to breathe in the middle of the shop.

There were two hoists, empty of cars at the moment, and five donated cars lined up, used for test cars. There were four pegboard cabinets of tools against one wall and a pair of gray tables at the back of the room peppered with many stains and burn marks.

"Get them! They're in the auto shop!" McGillan screamed furiously from the floor into a radio in his hand. Jordan ran for the small door beside the garage door only to close again and come back in a panic.

"They're outside too!" The door opened and the group sprinted to the back of the room, leapt over the tables and crashed hard against the concrete floor, Aramis and Athos sliding and hitting their heads on the base of a tool sharpening machine but only enough to give a slight headache. Porthos sat up and hurriedly wrenched down the tables, spilling the contents with a crash on the floor but making a quick barrier. Shawnee offered him a grateful smile and rested against one of the tables, half closed eyes looking around at the tired group. She frowned suddenly and noticed something missing.

"Oh miss… Shawnee is it?" McGillan's slimy voice called. It seemed he was back on his feet again. "I believe you forgot one of your friends." She peered around the edge of the table to see Chris struggling on the floor with five police on top of him to keep him on the ground. She growled angrily, biting at her bottom lip.

"Let me up you assholes!" He shouted furiously as he continued to struggle. McGillan laughed long and loud, sending shivers down the spines of the teens.

"I am willing to make a deal. But you have to come to speak to me. It is rude to talk to someone and not show your face."

"No Shawnee." D'Artagnan said, frowning at the contemplative expression on the girl's face. "I cannot agree with this."

"Me neither. He's an ass. You could get hurt." Brenna said with an agreeing nod. Shawnee shrugged and stood on the balls of her feet, still crouched.

"Don't worry. I know what I'm doing." She stated to Brenna and dodged around hands groping to grab the back of her coat to stop her as she stood. She walked towards McGillan, the wrench with its gleaming two heads made for two inch wide bolts out in the open as an unspoken threat.

"What do you want jerkoff? I don't make deals with scum." She spat. He smiled his charming smile and her face twisted with disgust.

"I am offering an exchange. You give us your gentlemen friends and I will let all of you and your friends go free. There will be no charges pressed against you and you will never have to deal with this again."

Silence reigned for a moment then she slowly walked forward. She stopped before him and stared up at him with a pathetically innocent look.

"Do you mean that?" She asked meekly. Brenna and Jordan's jaws dropped in horror and hurt. Joey and Alexiss could barely see so they climbed up onto a nearby higher bridge-like metal platform against the back wall, watching fretfully. The musketeers stared with eyes narrowed in anger and betrayal. Chris looked up from the floor and glared. Shawnee did not even flinch.

"Yes I do mean that." He said with a smile. She smiled back, blue eyes flashing behind her glasses, and she gestured for him to lower his ear a bit. He did so, his smile one of victory.

"There is one thing I should mention…" She whispered in his ear. He nodded and waited. She stepped back with a wide, innocent smile, running her hand along the wrench she carried. Suddenly her smile turned almost evil and she pulled back the wrench and swung the thick metal head up between his legs with a loud crunch. His voice burst from his lungs in a high pitched howl, clutching at the hit and tears coming from his eyes as he dropped to the ground. Athos groaned in pain, his face paling and eyes widening at this sight, D'Artagnan stared in shock, Aramis winced terribly, Porthos looked rather uneasy, and Jordan and Joey both unconsciously held themselves.

"You don't ever mess with my friends and expect to get away with it coward!" She roared at him, standing over his crumpled form with a wide smirk. He glared up at her viciously with a promise of pain but had no words to back it up.

Alexiss looked down suddenly at the area behind a black screen beside the tables and saw a man there, taking aim with a long black weapon right between Shawnee's shoulders. She shrieked and clambering over the metal railing of the platform, leapt down at him and wrapped her arms about his neck. Joey recovered his senses and soon joined her, his added weight and strength tackling him to the ground as the three fought for the weapon and caused it to fire its knock out darts.

"Alright enough of this!" Chris yelled and he pushed himself rapidly off the ground in his anger and sent the five cops sprawling. Shawnee ran over to him as they recovered and they found themselves trapped in a circle back to back.

"Any ideas Chris?" She asked, holding the wrench like a two-handed sword. Chris brandished the heavy sledge hammer about as long as the height of a medium sized dog, resting it in his hands.

"Well… when in Rome, do as the Romans do." The police all jumped at them. "Run like fucking hell!"

The pair took off as if lightening was at their heels, sprinting from the authorities and driving over the top of the table barrier to land in a heap on the other side among the rest of the group.

"Glad you could join us." Brenna said with a smile.

"What the devil kind of game were you playing at by acting such a way Shawnee?!" D'Artagnan demanded, frowning deeply at her. She shrugged and shook her head with a small laugh.

"I was trying to get Chris back with us. Guess I'd make a pretty good actor if you honestly believed I would betray you all."

There was a flop of a body against the floor and Joey and Alexiss straightened up, Joey holding the tranquilizer gun and breathing heavily.

"It's empty and he's out." He said with a happy smile.

"No one tries to harm our captain and gets away with it!" Alexiss said cheerfully. Shawnee blushed, rubbing at the back of her neck.

"I think it's time we get out of here. And we're going to have to fight." Shawnee said determinedly as she looked around at the others surrounding her.

"Then what are we waiting for?!" Chris demanded. "Let's kick some police ass!"

"Yeah!" Joey said, pounding his fist into his other hand. Alexiss held a look of nervous excitement and Jordan was simply nervous but both nodded anyway. Brenna nudged Shawnee's ribs and smiled.

"All for one?" She said with a quirked eyebrow.

"And one for all." Shawnee responded, high fiving Brenna and they clasped hands with a little shake. The men watched all this and shared a small smile. Perhaps the future was not as hopeless as they had first thought.

And with that, you will all have to wait for the actual fight in the next chapter. Again, sorry this took so long but working on my own is a bit of a pain. God how I miss Brenna :(

What am I not a good enough person to have as your second here?!

Oh shut up you. I didn't say that. Don't put words in my mouth.

Very well then.

Thanks go to Kimyco and IgnotusAngelus. Please note: I also miss getting reviews!

Am I free to go?

You came to help me on your own! I didn't ask you!

So I did. Well now, I must be going. *runs off*

*stares blankly while crickets chirp in the background*


	8. The Escape

Chapter 8: The Escape

Well... It's been a long, long, very looooooooooooooong time coming but... here it is.

This goes out to lilgenious, for giving me the push to get this written. It really wasn't fair where I left it so I hope you (and every other reader, of course) like it.

Also, a shout out to the authors Suthern-bell85, LadyWallace, xXLiquidSugarXx for your amazing contributions to the Alexandre Dumas section. It's great to see it come back to life.

October 30, 2009 – Part 2

With the police facing them, blocking the garage door and classroom area, the teens and the men were trapped in the back of the auto shop. Shawnee raised the wrench high above her head and roared, drawing cries from the others as they charged. The police ran against them, eager for the fight.

There were shouts and clangs, metal striking metal while voices echoed in the corners and ceiling. Chris had been backed between the shop cars and was leaving numerous dents with every swing of his hammer. The police that tried to get close enough to subdue him were forced to remain at a distance else lose all permanent use of their knees or ribs. Brenna had grabbed one of the many broken broom poles that had been stacked in a corner and was whipping it around as a quarterstaff with the jagged end jabbing at her enemies. Jordan was preoccupied with the table leg he carried, clapping the hardened, long ago melted end on any who approached from the front. And Shawnee was somewhere in the middle, lost amongst the blue uniforms, swinging the wrench she wielded with horrible accuracy but plenty of damage. Joey and Alexis teamed up and battered at a pair of men with ratchets and wrenches, laughing all the while.

The musketeers were left behind the tables, peeking over curiously. When Porthos went to stand to join the fray, Aramis grabbed his arm and pulled him back down, much to his dismay.

"We have no idea what we're facing here! Are you mad?" he hissed and Porthos threw off the priest's hand with a huff.

"Well, I'm not staying here and letting those kids take all the beating!" Porthos stood and bellowed and charged like a wild bull towards an officer who had lifted Jordan off his feet from behind. The three of them toppled to the ground with the force of Porthos' tackle and Jordan groaned painfully, trying to pull himself out from under the men and straightening his glasses, which were miraculously still intact.

Brenna's staff broke over the back of a man and she was reduced to using the remains in her hands to fend off blows from night sticks as two more officers appeared. Shawnee managed to break away from her fight to join Brenna and the two of them were able to get a couple of shots to their opponents' guts to wind them, despite having been struck several times in the struggle.

Alexiss gave a yell as a rather large man stood over her until Joey cracked a long large ratchet on the back of his skull, effectively dropping him. Aramis and D'Artagnan had left the safety of the tables and gathered as many air gun sockets as they could manage in a basket made of Aramis' robe before throwing them on to the ground. They rolled under the feet of their enemies and it became chaos as bodies fell. More police flooded in from outside and finding themselves outnumbered, Athos called a retreat, diving into the battle to grab at the teens and his comrades and dragging them back into the smaller classroom area.

Benches became a menace but stools became shields and even Chris found the time to act like a lion tamer, jabbing forward to cause a woman to back up into her fellows and stop their advance. Shawnee dashed to a set of double doors and unlocked them. Joey and Alexiss came running in behind the cops and Joey called out.

"Alright back off unless you want to be burned!" He brandished a half full gas can and Alexiss carried a match. Everyone backed away and gave them a wide berth; even the remained police outside stayed there upon hearing the threat. McGillan limped forward with a snarl, cursing in violent French.

"You are threatening police. Do you really want to be arrested?" he demanded of Joey. Athos looked back and waved them closer. "Hurry up, boy!"

Once close enough to the doors, Joey smirked and Alexiss began to light several matches. He threw the can closer to the grouped officers and the angry scientist and she dropped the little flaming sticks.

With the group packed into Shawnee's parents' minivan and Chris' dad's Suburban truck, they sped away. When they dared to look back in their rear view mirrors, all they could see was smoke from the far end of the school as they sped off into the interconnecting veins of the highway 401.

Shawnee's cell phone buzzed (making the musketeers within the minivan jump) and she reached in her pocket and handed it to Brenna in the passenger seat. Brenna flipped it open and read out the message from Chris.

\- Whoa! I think we just got expelled!

The drive was quiet. Music from a local radio station was a soft sound in the background as all were catching their breaths and allowing their adrenaline to slow. Athos coughed and watched the other cars beyond the window speed by them. D'Artagnan had laid his head back on the head rest in the seat next to him, behind Brenna. Joey, Alexiss, Jordan, Chris, Porthos, and Aramis were all piled in the Suburban that followed them until Chris decided to pull out and ride in the lane next to them. He waved his cell phone and Brenna waved back Shawnee's. A message came through.

\- Where the heck are we going?

"Tell him Ottawa." Shawnee stated blandly. "Olivier's there to visit his mother. Hopefully he'll be able to help us."

Brenna punched the letters on the phone's keyboard and sent back the message. D'Artagnan leaned forward on his knees, eyes sparking with childish curiosity.

"Who is this 'Olivier'?" he asked, smiling slightly. Shawnee's cheeks tinged pink.

"None of your business." She snapped. "Sit back in your seat and for God's sake, do up your seatbelt!"


	9. Police Brutality

Chapter 9: Police Brutality

October 30-31, 2009

The first thing Athos remarked about Olivier was that he was short, a little shorter than Shawnee, who really was the smallest of the future quartet. The second thing he remarked was that the young man was very much in love, perhaps even foolishly so, and there was little chance of it being reciprocated by the prickly 17 year old given that none of them had heard of him until recently. He had dark hair tied back in a small tight tail and hazel eyes. There was a pair of those glass things perched on his ever so slightly hooked nose and his hands and feet were childishly small for the time period, yet he was a proud but friendly man, years older than any of the youths in about his mid-twenties, yet still in his prime.

"Bienvenu mes amis," he said with a smile, waving them all inside the small home. "Get in here before you catch a cold." It had fittingly started raining as they rolled into a little place just outside Ottawa. Athos didn't know the name; he hadn't bothered looking out the window for one of the highway signs.

The house was tight inside but cozily done up. There was a little white dog with floppy ears named Lucky. Olivier said it was a trailer, whatever that was, and that his mother was out. Aramis shared a look with Athos to which the older man shrugged his shoulders in his typical nonplussed way, his hand now pale enough to see through without squinting. What was it that Shawnee had said so many times on the drive here when problems came up? Nous nous en sortirons – we will manage. If only it was as easy as a few words.

"Is there anything to eat?" Porthos demanded, looking in the cupboards and the fridge impatiently. "Anything at all besides these damned vegetables?" Olivier shook his head with a brief chuckle and a smile.

"No, Monsieur Porthos, my mother no longer eats meat. You'll have to settle with what's here as I cannot go and buy some when the nearest large town is about an hour away and my mother has the car." Porthos stared at him, surprised that he had known his name without introductions, but Olivier ignored him when he went to ask how he knew.

"Just take one of theirs," said Aramis with a huff, gesturing out to window to the road where the two vans were parked. "Surely you know how to drive one of those metal rolling boxes?"

"That would be rather rude of a host, non?"

"You do not seem very surprised by our arrival," said Athos suspiciously.

"That's because I'm not," said Olivier. "I do have internet here. Shawnee and I chatted quite frequently."

"And you just believed her without question?" said Aramis disbelievingly. Olivier narrowed his eyes.

"Why shouldn't I have? She does not and cannot lie to me. I know her too well for that to happen. But where is she? Surely she wouldn't let you come here without her?" Brenna, Chris, and Joey shared a look, Jordan frowned from his seat on the floor with the dog, and Alexiss looked down, unable to meet his eyes.

"And for that matter, where's D'Artagnan?" Olivier's voice was starting to rise and he looked tense. "What happened? Answer me!"

"Enough. There's no point in attacking them," said Aramis. "What happened occurred too fast for any of us to stop."

They had pulled off the highway for a break, just to stretch their legs, splash some water on their faces, refuel, and maybe buy some food from the service station. They were a little more at ease now that there were several hours between them and the mess they had left behind, and rather than take the straight direction through to their destination, they had gotten on and off the highway at times to take the winding, scenic back roads. It was true that they burned through more fuel, and more funds, with this method but their trail was a little more difficult to follow. Any cash they had on them, however, was running out, and relying on their plastic cards to even get more cash was a great risk as by now, more likely than not, their accounts were being watched for any activity from anywhere, at least so Shawnee fretted. Porthos had just laughed at the ridiculousness of the thought but quickly stopped when neither Chris nor Jordan nor Brenna nor Joey nor Alexiss said anything against that.

Everyone was in their respective vehicles, waiting for Shawnee and Chris to finish paying, when the two youths suddenly barrelled out of the gas bar, clambered in the drivers' seats, and sped off without a care for safety, Chris narrowly missing a small blue car as he cut it off at the exit of the station.

"Come on, go faster you big blue piece of junk!" cursed Shawnee, pounding with one hand on the steering wheel.

"What's going on?" demanded Brenna, turning around in her seat to see out of the back window.

"The news was on in there and the cashier got a good look at us. Good thing it was some dopey kid otherwise he'd have already been on the phone as we went to pay. I can't believe we just stole gas."

"Who's to say he didn't call the police anyway? What about silent alarms? He could have been pressing a little button under the counter and you'd have never known!"

"Calm down girls," said D'Artagnan. "Those cars are incredibly loud are they not? Surely we'll hear them before we see them and can get off the road before they catch up."

"It's not that simple!" said Shawnee angrily. "Brenna, send Chris a text. See if he has any ideas. I can't think straight right now."

Unfortunately, Chris had none and was even bold enough to remind her that she was the captain and thus it was her responsibility to do the thinking. After many repetitions of morbleu, sacrediable, and vertubleu, enough to make Athos' brow knit with disapproval, Shawnee finally took a deep breath, sat up straight, and drove in icy silence. Brenna attempted to make small talk but every word fell on deaf ears and she soon gave up. She checked on Athos to see how much of him had faded (his fingers at that point see through yet surprisingly still functional) then began to doze in her seat until the sudden sound of sirens struck her ears.

"Oh shit, oh shit, oh shit," Shawnee whimpered, pushing the gas pedal down to the floor.

"They're gaining on us!" said Athos, turned in his seat, the blue and red lights flashing alternately across his face.

"They must have only put on their lights so they could find us quietly and still dodge traffic. How did we miss that?" Brenna flipped open the cell phone and dialed Chris.

"Do you see them?" she said into it.

"Yeah, can't miss the lights and noise. Stupid pigs... Do we ram them?"

"Chris, that's no good. Shawnee! Pull over! Maybe we can escape them by running into the fields. You hear that Chris?"

"Yeah, I heard you screechy. Let's go." The drivers jerked the vehicles on to the shoulder of the road with a spray of gravel and the occupants piled out. Joey and Alexiss lead the way down into the ditch, leaping the small gulley of slimy water, Aramis and Porthos right behind them. Jordan and Chris quickly followed, Chris quickly pushing a button on his keys to lock the doors. Brenna and Athos flew from the minivan, already halfway up the hill, heading towards a field of wheat, and D'Artagnan jumped the gulley but stopped, looking back when he found himself alone. Shawnee was in the van, struggling with her seatbelt. He looked up the hill, where he saw Athos and Brenna disappearing over the crest of it, and turned back. He climbed in through the still open side door and found the girl almost in tears.

"Stop squirming Shawnee and hold still." He drew a dagger from his boot and cut at the grey belt. She looked back and howled.

"Hurry, please. Oh God, I don't want to die." D'Artagnan felt the fabric break under his gloved fingers and pulled it back.

"Calm down. Start running already!" She opened the door only to scream as it was shut in her face and an officer levelled a gun at the window. D'Artagnan's eyes were big as he stared at another officer facing him through the sliding door opening.

"Stay where you are. Don't move." The first one beside Shawnee spoke into a radio and more cars pulled up quickly, at least three, their sirens off but their lights still flashing. Two pairs of officers climbed out, went up the hill, and into the field after the others. They ignored the rows of squat, thick pines, heading off into the wheat and completely missing Athos buried amongst the branches with one arm wrapped around Brenna and his other hand clapped against her mouth to keep her from shouting. The pair watched in muted horror as D'Artagnan and Shawnee were brought from the van at gun point and forcefully pushed down against the hood, their faces lying on the still warm metal, their wrists being cuffed together behind their backs.

"The girl in one car and the man in the other," ordered McGillan, suddenly appearing from the final car and smiling coldly. The officers began to separate the two when D'Artagnan, after he was lifted back into an upright position by the back of his collar, threw back his head against his captor. There was an audible crack and a yell from the assaulted and D'Artagnan went to charge when McGillan caught Shawnee by the arm and held a small black thing against the side of her neck.

"Be warned Monsieur. I will not hesitate to put all the electricity available in this device into her system if you continue to disobey." D'Artagnan looked to the young woman who shook her head ever so slightly. He stood very still, glaring icily at the scientist as the second officer came to take hold of him again. McGillan pulled the black object away from the girl.

"Run, D'Artagnan, run for your life!" she yelled and he did, tripping the officer behind him and heading off down the shoulder of the road. Unfortunately, the four others cops returned at that moment, having not found the rest of the group of fugitives, and gave chase to him. One got close enough to leap and tackle him, and as the captain struggled, another came up and beat him around the head with his stick, knocking him out.

"They dragged D'Artagnan to a car and put Shawnee in another and they all drove off," said Athos tiredly.

"You were right there!" yelled Olivier. "You were both there and you did nothing!"

"We couldn't do a damn thing, you fool," said Athos. "We would have all been taken had we done anything."

"Frankly, that scientist gives me the creeps," said Joey.

"What's his name again?" asked Olivier, pulling his laptop onto his knees.

"McGillan," said Alexiss, "He came from somewhere in Montreal, I think. Why?"

"Well, the internet may be able to tell us more about him," said Olivier. "Search the kitchen if you want food. I'm too busy to make you guys something now."

One thing Athos had to admit, however, was that although the young man was foolishly 'in love' with that prickly girl, his determination was an admirable trait. Brenna stood from her seat and went to the kitchen to poke through the cupboards, pulling things from here and there to try and make up something for everyone to eat. It turned out to be just soup, but it was better than nothing. Porthos, Aramis, and Chris went to grumble a bit, but a glare from Brenna and Athos made them go quiet again. The only other sound beyond the scraping of spoons was the clicking of Olivier's keyboard as he scoured the internet.

"I got him," he said coldly. "A Montreal geneticist working to find some cure of some sort of which I, frankly, could care less about." Setting his computer aside, he stood and stretched, walking into the kitchen where Athos and Brenna sat at the tiny table, Joey sat up on a counter, and Chris, Porthos, Alexiss, and Aramis sat on the floor. Lucky sat in front of Aramis, a paw on his leg and an eager expression, which the priest was happy to ignore, sparing only side glances at the little white beast to make sure it came no closer.

"We're leaving at first light," said Olivier sharply. "Finish your food; find a place to lie down. I'll get some blankets or something for you and I'll explain to my mother what's going on. She'll understand. Be ready in the morning because if you're not, I will leave without you."

"Don't worry about us," said Brenna, rolling her eyes. "You just remember to set your alarm more than once. I remember Shawnee saying not even a bomb could wake you up when you're really sleeping." Olivier nodded and left the kitchen, heading into a back room, most likely a bedroom, to search for extra blankets.

"We barely know this guy," hissed Jordan. "Are you seriously going to trust him?"

"We really don't have a choice," said Chris. "Do you know how to speak French?"

"Well no, but—"

"Then shut up already and eat your soup or I'm taking it."


End file.
